Geoff Horne’s early career was something of a contrast to his current metier as an artist. “I started out in banking and then moved into sales, working in book printing and publishing,” he says. “I’d always drawn, but never had any formal art training. It was when my son Justin was recovering from an injury at home that I decided to give up sales and began painting from my garage. Being strictly self-taught, it was a hard slog. There were plenty of canvases destroyed and paint splashed on the walls!” Geoff began working in oils, but finding the drying times too tedious, soon turned to acrylics. “I painted all sorts of different subject matter and eventually plucked up the courage to take my paintings to a gallery.” 

“I decided to meander through the Karoo, stopping over at the most remote little towns and just fell in love with the region.”  Taking photographs of out-of-the-way trading stores, cinemas, houses and pool rooms, Geoff soon realised that he was surrounded by subject matter. “The images aren’t ‘prettied up’,” he says. “I prefer to paint the streets as I see them – complete with vehicles, fences, bins and lamp posts. But I do adjust the composition to give the most impact.” Influenced by the works of American Richard Estes and local artists Keith Alexander and John Meyer (he refers to the latter as the master of the Karoo). Geoff says he’s intrigued by capturing a moment in time. “There’s no hidden message. My paintings are about places that appeal to me, about buildings that may not survive and people who are going about their daily activities.” Geoff also appreciates the way that buildings take on different personas over time. “You’ll see an old pharmacy that’s become a café or a lovely Victorian broekie lace façade that’s covered with advertising slogans. And there’s the informality of people selling fresh produce from the verandas.”

“It’s been a strange and wonderful life,” he admits. “Leaving the sales world was the best thing I could have done. I’m so grateful to my son who inadvertently got me into the world of professional painting. There’s still a great thrill in putting your name to a work you’re really happy with.”