Leanne Rutter Art

It’s been a while…

‘An Exchange of Charm’
Oils on found wood
75x42cm

I met Kaserandu by chance while wandering in Windhoek, Namibia. She, her friends/ sisters, and some of their babies, members of the Himba tribe from the Kunene region in the north of the country, had travelled to the capital to sell curios. While buying some bracelets we talked and laughed together. At first Kaserandu was distant and cool with me, unlike her sisters who were light heartedly mocking and competitive. In the hours I spent with them her demeanour had changed entirely. We swapped trinkets as gifts for one another, hugged, kissed cheeks over and over, joked and exchanged tales of our lives, through our language barrier and cultural differences.

Painted on a beautiful piece of native wood I found in Namibia just days before.

I have been concentrating on signwriting, murals, leather painting and other more illustrative, nature inspired work over at ; hence the break from oil painting. I will try not to be away so long again and obtain a little more balance in my artistic endeavours…