From Joburg, with love
NORTHCLIFF – Local artist, Daniela Starostecka shows her love for the city through her art.
Famed artist William Kentridge once produced a body of work he titled, Johannesburg 2nd Greatest City After Paris and for local artist Daniela Starostecka no statement has rung as true about her city.
Starostecka is a full-time artist who does all her drawings in black ballpoint pen and are of Johannesburg architecture, city landmarks and buildings, I also like to draw abandoned buildings with street art on them.”
She loves old buildings and adores this city as for her, there is nowhere like it”.
The first drawing she ever did was when she was four years old and it was of a giant bunny next to a tiny house for which she won a Barbie doll. Now a full-time artist, her love for art has been constant since she was a little girl.
“I had an amazing art teacher and started a fine arts degree but didn’t finish it. I realised I wanted to be a full-time artist when I went to art classes at AJs Art Academy and learned to really draw.”
She added that in her earlier years within the arts, she didn’t dare think she would ever be a full-time artist.
She hadn’t thought about it until one day while living in Poland, she realised it was a drawing that stopped her from going mad. She later sold some drawings in a tiny local gallery while there, and though she could actually do this and that, but all she really wanted to do was to draw all day and worked to make this happen no matter what.
Though she uses a ballpoint pen to draw her art, she has tried her hand at charcoal but found that for her, it was very messy. “The challenge I have with a ballpoint pen is that I’m left-handed so my hand drags over the drawing as I work and can smudge,” she shared. Jokingly she shared how she always has a pen-smeared left hand.
Starostecka hopes her art shows people how cool the city really is despite its problems. She feels a sense of familiarity and love for Joburg and, undoubtedly, a love for it. She is yet to have an exhibition and would love to one day.
“I would love to have a successful exhibition and meet William Kentridge. I would love to have a little exhibition in NYC but that’s a biggie.”
