About the artist
My name is Wynand du Plessis and I want to thank you for taking the time to look around my online galleries and for your interest in my artworks.
I am a passionate photographer and used to focus exclusively on wildlife and landscape photography in Namibia (in Africa). My wife (Claudia) and I lived for over ten years in the Etosha National Park in Namibia where we worked as environmental researchers, and gained a deep understanding in, and love for, wild nature. We are now living in Germany, and I am expanding my photography, and especially my photo art.
What do I mean with the term "photo art"? My photo art creations are my own original photographs (most of my photographs were taken using a digital camera), that are digitally enhanced, restyled, combined and/or altered in a computer using various software techniques, often involving many steps. The true orginal artwork is the final digital image on my computer's hard disk.
I draw my inspiration for creating photo art from being fascinated with the basic elements of art. My interpretation of "beauty in photography and visual art" can best be described by the fact that beauty is often subconsciously perceived through the underlining elements of art that are composed and arranged harmoniously and in balance. The subject matter is therefore often of lesser importance. My artworks displayed here are therefore unique in that they are a visual reflection of my own interpretation of subjects, ideas and the elements of art.
I have always been inspired by the artworks of great impressionists, cubists & surrealists of old, as well as by modern contemporary paintings and digital art of fantasy & mystical art themes. I used to be a passionate painter as a kid, but turned to photography & the creation of art using computer effects & techniques. Digital image creation and manipulation have opened a world of visual possibilities that is endless in scope. My newest theme "Bird Art" (and now also "Butterflies & Dragonflies") comes closest to my original inspiration to create paintings than most of my other artworks shown on this site.
I especially love the unpredictability in effects achieved by creative photography (for example in-camera motion blurs, or photographs of natural reflections where the water distort, twist & mix the subject in unexpected ways). Computer-generated image manipulation can also produced out-of-this-world visual impressions, but I often need many steps, layers & tools to produce an artwork that I am satisfied with.
For me the total impression created by viewing the complete artwork is important, but I especially enjoy to view enlarged parts of an abstract artwork and appreciate the underlying basic elements of art.
With my abstract photo art I aim to inspire people to look beyond the obvious and see something creative, unique, fascinating, thought provoking and new in everything they see and experience.
Contact
Please do not hesitate to contact me by email (wynandphotoart@gmail.com) or phone (+49 841 97061192) if you have any questions. If you like to get in contact by phone, please consider time zone differences as I am living in Germany. The best time to phone me is between 10h00 to 21h00 (German time).
Social media sharing
I am using Pinterest as the social media platform of choice (Pinterest is actually more an image & idea search engine than a social media platform) and stopped using Facebook, Instagram & Twitter. However, my artworks can easily be shared to these other platforms as well from within Pinterest.