Brave Art by Dale Bradshaw Botha
Pablo Picasso said that the chief enemy of creativity is good sense and that’s why the absurdity and phantasmagoria of the work by Sunshine Coast artist Dale Bradshaw Botha really speaks to that quote. Carlie Wacker steps inside the creative world of our amazing cover artist.
There is a bravery that lives within every artist that allows them the freedom to share their creations. The greatest gift that we can offer in return is our own explanation of what we see and with Dale Bradshaw Botha this is the humbling part of her job.
“The intention in my work is to evoke emotion and tell a story – not one only told by me, but one in which I invite the viewer to create their own,” she says.
“I am always amazed at interpretations of my art by other people who appear to see so much more in it than I ever intended! It’s very heart-warming.”
Dale is a digital and mixed media artists who was born in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. It was later in life that she ignited her lifelong love of art to explore the mobile art form.
She says her work is best described as figurative – a mishmash of reality and imagined.
“Much of my work, especially in the last 3 years, starts with an image taken on my iPhone and then becomes part
of a composited piece of art on my iPad Pro or in Photoshop,” she says.
“I also take photographs or scans of my own paintings or drawings and work further on them on my iPad Pro and/or in Photoshop using brushes, textures, typography and overlays to enhance the image and create an entirely new piece.
“I call this ‘Dancing Between Devices’.”
And the finalé in this dance performance has resulted in her art being featured exhibitions around the world including London, USA, Italy, Turkey and Australia. She was one of ten finalists in the international Anthology Magazine Cover Art Award 2021 and received two Honourable Mentions in the inaugural Mobiography Awards 2021.
Dale is always curious to find new ways of enhancing a photograph or using a photograph in composite work.
She finds inspiration in nature, music, books, friends, travel and childhood memories.
Her art tells a story, evokes emotion and invites the viewer to create their own narrative. Typography, texture and patterns are featured extensively.
“The colours of the world in which we live, play a big part too, however I tend to work in more muted tones which fits in with my desire to live a quiet and unassuming life,” she says.
“Every now and then I burst into bright colours which is a refreshing change.”
Her bursts of bold colour can be seen in works such as Bird Brain.
“For a long time having a ‘bird brain’ was considered to be a bad thing: Now it turns out that it should be a compliment as a study found that bird brains have significantly more neurons than mammals, even primate brains of the same mass,” she explains.
Now that’s a jolly good reason to burst out the brights!
Love Life shows her use of typography in her art and our cover art 4 Goldfish Lane is a moment of pure fantasy and fun.
“4 Goldfish Lane is created entirely from my imagination using parts of Royalty-Free Vintage pieces of Ephemera, and my own mark making,” she said.
“The absurd idea of being able to walk down a lane and have goldfish swimming alongside me made me laugh – so I am hoping it will at least bring a smile to all who happen to view it,” Dale says.
Well, I’m smiling because this artist dares to bring the quirkiest of our imagination to life in her mobile, mixed media art – it is indeed brave art!
Find Dale on Instagram @marymodale or on Facebook @dale.b.botha
