Anthony Steyn

'Red Sunrise, ' by Anthony Steyn, Acrylic on Canvas Board Painting

2021

Anthony is a self-taught artist who grew up in South Africa during the apartheid era. Raised by an artistic mother, Anthony developed a strong attraction to nature and the outdoors. As a teenager, his fascination with the creative process and his adoration for wildlife inspired simple black and white bird sketches. Soon his artistic exploration led him to draw landscapes and trees. Each illustration preserved a personal connection to the scenery that he loved. Despite Anthony’s creative curiosity, he went directly into the plumbing trade out of necessity as there were minimal career opportunities in the fields of conservation and wildlife management at the time. After completing formal training, he operated a successful plumbing business for several years before leaving South Africa out of safety concerns and a yearning to broaden his horizons. He immigrated to Ireland and immediately began missing his South African homeland. But Anthony’s tenacious desire to revisit his childhood and strengthen his connection to South Africa inspired him to paint his first work. His creation of a lone man standing on a hill under a tree and looking out to an expansive landscape gave him enough of a spark to pursue his craft. After two years living in a tiny apartment in Dublin, Anthony, his wife, and one daughter immigrated to Oklahoma with virtually nothing. Anthony used his plumbing skills to start another business and build a new life quickly. Soon after, his love for his homeland and his artistic cravings lured him back in front of the canvas, where he painted landscapes, mountains, sunsets, and sunrises. Inspired by careful daily observations, Anthony uses each painting to explore cherished childhood and young adult memory through a setting from his past. The juxtaposition between the splendor of his native land and the truth that most children living under the apartheid regime could not experience this beauty, in the same way, create a deeply personal creation. He hopes his paintings offer a glimpse into the world that others couldn’t see and personify the beauty he was fortunate to witness. Presently, Anthony runs his successful plumbing and property development business full time and spends his evenings and weekends using his art as an escape to revisit his past frequently. Even though each of his creations makes him miss South Africa dearly, he hopes that others will find the same joy in his work that he experiences painting it.