A collection of Marie Theron’s paintings, currently on show at the Beach House Gallery @ MJ’s in Melkbosstrand, glow with inner life. The paintings show the Grotto Bay artist at the height of her power; and will be at the heart of a group exhibition starting on 5 May.
Expressive yet gentle
In 38 small-to-medium-sized canvasses Theron has depicted the things she loves. Flowers. Hills and rollicking fields. Bokkoms hanging out to dry. Theron’s mastery of technique has turned these simple subjects into something timeless and gem-like.
Theron is so unassuming when you meet her, that you’d never guess that her paintings are collected worldwide.
Marie Theron is at the height of her powers.
There’s a Theron painting in the collection of the President of Croatia; her paintings hang in the Croatian Embassy and Academia Cravatica in Zagreb; and more than 30 of her paintings have sold in America. Bold achievements, to say the least. But the artist, who is waif-like and still beautiful at 73 years of age, is unimpressed by her achievements.
The ordinary becomes extraordinary
Theron’s career as an art teacher and artist started in 1964. “Painting was always my ‘thing,’” she says. “It’s especially important for me now. I’m 73, and to be painting full time, gives me great hope and energy.”
She has said that she wakes up each day thinking of the canvas she’s busy working on. The lyrical canvasses are the result of working with multiple layers of colours. Theron starts out using warm colours and introduces cold colours only in the later stages. Her brush marks are expressive. They range from sculptural to expressive flicks that capture the subject matter.
Intimate space
Theron’s canvasses are displayed on the mezzanine level of the Beach House Gallery @ MJ’s. She chose this part of the gallery because of the quality of the light. For Theron light – and the luminous light here on the west coast – has always been of great importance. Gallery owner and fellow artist Marina Jacobs has chosen to display the canvasses in an intimate fashion that suits the nature of Theron’s art.
From peonies to chickens to bokkoms, the glowing canvasses command the eye. As there are so many, some, including the necklaces featuring flower studies, have spilt over into the downstairs section of the gallery.
Theron’s works can already be enjoyed; they will also form part of the group exhibition that starts on 5 May. The 
opening promises to be as festive as the first that featured good food and wine, and live entertainment.
Beach House Gallery @ MJ’s can be contacted at jacobsm.rio@lantic.net. The gallery is located at no 5 Rio Road, Melkbosstrand.
