FAREWELL TO EL ARTIST
THE city of East London has bid farewell to renowned Eastern Cape artist Paul Schmidt.
Schmidt died on December 26 last year and a memorial service was held at the Fairlands Chapel in Cambridge last Friday.
Born in Fort Beaufort in 1955, his love for art developed at a young age and he continued painting after matriculating from Belgravia Art School in East London.
Paul did technical/mechanical animation for the SAA’s film and video unit. After working as a graphic designer in Johannesburg, he went on to become a full-time artist.
His early exhibitions included various galleries in Johannesburg, Cape Town, East London, Florida (Khan Gallery) and Fort Lauderdale, and a successful solo exhibition in the Sands Hotel, Vancouver, Canada.
The Gallery Africa in CT and CVD Gallery in East London are two galleries selling his work.
His exhibitions for 2013 included The Eye Centre (EL), Ann Bryant Art Gallery Coach House and Absa Vuka Exhibition in the East London Harbour Customs building. Some of his works are on display at the VIC Centre and Jikeleza Properties in the Jikeleza Village Centre.
Paul’s talents were recognised by the South African Institute of Artists and Designers in their publication of The Collector’s Guide to Art and
Artists in South Africa – a visual journey into the thoughts, emotions and minds of artists.
Paul worked for the Daily Dispatch in East London as their cartoonist. He illustrated various children’s books, psychology books and a legal autobiography for the late Judge Colin White. His paintings hang on the walls of Saudi Arabian palaces and in the boardroom of Mercedes-Benz in East London.