Gobel Gallery
Timeless Landscape Journeys
PROFILE OF JAMES GOBEL
South African Landscape Artist
Every weekend James would venture out, visiting the surrounding farms near Somerset West to capture the beauty in the kaleidoscope and tapestry of colour and texture on canvas. Some farmers, seeing his work, commissioned him to paint their homesteads and the surrounding landscape. This proved so lucrative that he left the printing trade and opened shops in Somerset West, Pretoria and Gauteng. He combined his other passion for Persian carpets, with selling not only his own works but also included many other artists paintings.
Retiring in 2008, James now concentrates full time on his painting. His genius in rendering light and shadow, managing to capture the warmth of the South African sunlight on canvas, makes his paintings much sought after by collector's all over the world. His work is currently been sold by Michael Gobel who under the auspices of Gobel Galleries is able to offer the art lover a collection of private as well as public paintings that are part of the 'James Gobel Collection' of investment pieces.
James Gobel's paintings have been sold as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, Finland and the United Kingdom. As one client once wrote, "He [James Gobel] draws the viewer into his paintings with subtle light and shading, nostalgically and joyfully. He gives one a perception of time and place that is familiar to the art lover, believing they have been there, or recalling in their distant memory a moment in history. This is the achievement of a great landscape artist".
James Gobel was born in 1936 in what was then the quaint little village of Gordon's Bay, a picturesque coastal town, nestled between mountains and the sea on the False Bay coastline of Cape Town.
The desire to paint was nurtured in James from the early age of 10 years old when he befriended the local professional artist Harold Boyes. Harold, despite being deaf and mute, guided James in the intricacies of water colour. Allowing James to sit and watch him at work, he unlocked the secrets of colour, shading and distance, firmly grounding James's lifelong love affair with landscape and the arts.
Upon leaving school, James took up an apprenticeship as a colour lithographer in Cape Town. It is here that he gained the knowledge that resulted in his excellent technique in blending colour with oil paints.
