Wessel marais biography of christopher
Wessel Marais ( - ) was active/lived in South Africa.
He was predominantly an oil painter and his varied subject matter included landscapes, boats in the harbour, rural and urban scenes, vases full of flowers, and....
Wessel’s father was a local postmaster of the type now long gone in most societies – part local dignitary, confidant and mainstay of small town activity. Wessel’s father was also a minor poet and a great influence who believed that quite apart from work, a man’s inner presence must express itself in some creative form.
Childhood days were spent at various small towns, living on large plots which always had railway lines and cosmos flowers, recalls Wessel. An older friend called Simon introduced Wessel to drawing, using sticks and sand. Mostly Wessel drew trains travelling at great speed – upside down!
On leaving school, Wessel’s main ambition was to be a pilot but he became a postmaster, just like his father. He quickly became very bored with the humdrum 9–5 job and took classes in the evening in commercial art. This, says Wessel, gave life a whole new meaning and soon little drawings were being executed in th