about tessa marais
I have enjoyed drawing from a young age. I have a memory of drawing a picture of an owl, over and over, until I got it right... at the age of 6. I have two years of formal education in drawing and four in photography.
I attented high school at Worcester Gymnasium and took art and photography as subjects at Hugo Naudé Art Centre in Worcester.
After school, I studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Stellenbosch.
In high school, I received the following prizes for art:
•   Certificate of Merit:
•   1999   - Art (1st prize)
•   2001   - Design Art SG (1st prize)
•   2002   - Design Art SG, Photography (1st prize)
I also took part in the annual Montagu Youth Arts Festival and won the following prizes:
•   Montagu Youth Arts Festival:
•   1999   - Art (silver)
•   2000   - Art (2 gold)
•   2001   - Photography (bronze)
•   2002   - Photography (gold - overall winner)
I sketch on normal paper, but recently started sketching on paper with a rougher texture as well. The sketches are done with black Pitt Pastell, which is less oily than Oil Pastell and more like chalk, giving off a powder that can be smeared on the sketch.
From a young age I was interested in drawing people and animals. I used to draw faces quite a lot. I only started drawing with Pastell after school, my first drawing with this medium being 'Untitled' (see Gallery). Before that, I used pencil. I still sketch with pencil occasionally as well as with pen and I also paint with both acrylic and oil paint.