Everyday Life - By CAROL ELLIOTT | Compass Correspondent | Posted: Friday, March 28, 2008;

One of the many large monochromatic paintings in the vanWyk Gallery on Hypolita Street caught my eye. Sitting next to a man with his back to her, a woman appears to be taking a coffee break but it is not in St. Augustine. In fact, it looks like it could be in any metropolitan city.

The colors are pure white and black with shades of gray. The repetition of lines and patterns lead me around the painting. One can't help but feel the rhythm as the eye travels around the composition. The artist's point of view is intimate. The viewer feels near the image rather than far away.

The images in the painting are rich in texture. "Every brush stroke made comes from years of drawing," says the former architect. "I am drawing with the paint brush." The precise amount of light and reflection add to the mood of the painting.

Other paintings by Conrad vanWyk, although of different images and set in various scenes, also produce the same response but without naming the place specifically. vanWyk's acrylics on canvas speak of "life as it is," he says. "I want to produce paintings that could fit
anywhere not area specific everybody wouldn't want that."

A couple dances the tango in one image. A woman dances alone in another. A trio of local musicians almost life size fill another canvas. "How is it that you paint portraits and the human body, for example, muscular arms and legs so well?" I asked him.

"The origin of drawing in detail stems from drawing for many years and developing that," was his reply. vanWyk came to the United States two years ago after working as an artist for six years in Venice, Italy. Before that he was gainfully employed as a successful architect designing airport terminals all over the world.

Last year, he took a trip to South Africa, not too far from where he was raised. His parents were of European descent but moved to Namibia where his father worked as a manager of a copper mine.

"I saw these men working ... I liked the rhythm ... the movement, so I thought why not paint that because it depicts something other than palm trees and coastal scenes people are in motion," he added. "I'm trying to create paintings that are not necessarily just pretty pictures. It really is just depicting everyday life."

vanWyk Gallery - 35 Hypolita St., downtown St. Augustine (904) 315-7797