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Iwanski, HIlary


Hilary Iwański was born in Knysna in 1955. She studied Medical Technology and worked in the field of Chemical Pathology before starting a career in painting in 1982.

In the mid 1980’s she studied watercolour techniques with Derric van Rensburg, before teaching this medium between 1985 and 1989. In 1990 she joined the Ruth Prowse School of Art to study pastel and oil painting under the directorship of Ryno Swart. Hilary joined the Artists’ Co-Operative in 1992 to continue her studies with Ryno Swart. In 1995 she returned to Ruth Prowse to study sculpture under the direction of Maureen Langley. Hilary broke her art studies to complete a B A degree in Psychology and English before starting to paint again in early 2000. She later returned to the Artists’ Co-Operative and has helped run the Life Drawing and Painting sessions for the past five years.
As an established figurative artist, Hilary has participated in many group exhibitions, worked on commissions and exhibited in various galleries as well as selling work privately. Her paintings hang in private homes in the USA, England, Poland and Australia.
“My first passion is art, my second, opera. I draw inspiration for my work from my models, the music I listen to while I paint and my surroundings; especially Newlands forest where I walk most days. I paint because I am fascinated by nature and the human form. The shapes of the figure, the face, the mood are irresistible to me. I see colour in everything, from letters, to texts to names and days of the week. It is difficult for me to temper this tendency when it comes to depicting everything I see before me.
With the odd break to paint flowers or the Newlands Forest, I have concentrated on painting from life for the last few years. I have painted a number of different models over a period of months or, in some cases years, attempting to capture their changing physical and emotional states. More recently I have tried to combine my love of music and opera with my art using singers as models.” - Hilary Iwański

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