Renown mouth artist boosts USCAA exhibition
The Upper South Coast Art Association's exhibition at Galleria received a major boost with the confirmation that renowned SA mouth artist, Justice May (47) will exhibit and give demonstrations.
Justice learnt to paint with his mouth six months after breaking his neck in a diving accident at Hartbeespoort Dam at the age of 19.
“I used to draw before the accident, but not paint,” he said. “I joined the Association of Foot and Mouth Artists as a student and have been a member for 24 years.”
Prints of his paintings regularly feature on the association’s bi-annual calendars and cards to fundraise. His paintings also sell internationally.
Justice can spend up to two weeks working on one of his masterpieces and often works on two or three paintings simultaneously.
“I love painting wildlife, Namaqualand, the warm colours of South Africa like oranges and blues and figures, especially children.
I often take a photo of the scene I want to paint and use it as a guide to refer to. I like to drive to the place I want to paint, especially landscapes. I love to travel and see landscapes before I paint them.”
Two of his favourite artists are Kobus Moller, who paints wildlife, and Johan Grobler.
He splits his time between Pretoria, where he was born, and Illovo Beach, where he has lived for the past 15 years. “I do a lot of exhibitions in Gauteng and all over the country. I also give demonstrations and motivational speeches.”
In 2000 he painted a portrait of Nelson Mandela. “I left a message that I wanted to give him the painting as a Christmas present. I went to his residence in Houghton and met him. He then visited me at my home in Pretoria and assisted in building a painting workshop for 16 quadriplegic painters on my property.”
The exhibition takes place from Saturday, 14 December to Monday, 23 December from 9am to 9pm and from Tuesday, 24 December to Sunday, 29 December from 9am to 5pm. Justice’s paintings will be on view and for sale at the exhibition and he will give two demos – on Saturday, 14 December and Tuesday, 24 December at about 11am.
Any Toti artists who paint or draw with their foot or mouth can contact the association on 011-7702065.
