Persistence

I’ve always been fascinated by the persistence of the Welwitschia. Growing in the harsh conditions of the Namib Desert, it can live for hundreds, and sometimes even thousands, of years. Its leaves never stop growing, yet over time they are torn and shaped by the wind until they become ribbons carrying the marks of a very long life.

While painting this work, I became interested in the absence of blue. We think of blue as the colour of sky and distance, yet it was one of the last colours to be distinctly named in human language. For centuries people lived beneath blue skies without a separate word for it.

There is something about the Welwitschia that feels older than naming. Standing in a landscape shaped by time, drought, wind and survival, it seems to belong to a world where endurance mattered more than definitions. For me, this painting is about persistence, longevity and the quiet beauty of a life shaped by time.

Go here to see more about these ancient plants.

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