Patrick explains that his extraordinarily beautiful painting entitled “Serene” is about portraying women as pillars of strength, captured by glimpses into their daily routine. The artist acknowledges in every portrait, the many excellent attributes he still recognizes in his mother.
“To create ‘Serene’ I used charcoal drawing and acrylic paint on canvas, applied in the form of a wash. The washes mimic an interminable desire present in many women, to wash away unpleasant experiences in their lives.” Patrick Seruwu.
Seruwu deliberately washed the canvas and allowed the paint to drip as a metaphor for a woman’s tears of pain, joy and success. Choosing to limit himself to black and sepia reflects the passing time, like the shades of old photographs or the color of aging and rusting material. He expresses the belief that time is required for healing. It also portrays the tension of day-to-day existence.
Patrick creates portraits as stoic busts, immortalizing youth and strength similar to that found in Roman and Greek statues. These legendary statues signify strength, but for Patrick the idealization of the women in his paintings, are more candid representations of the reality of their daily lives as he witnesses in the cosmopolitan city of Johannesburg. Within this multicultural, work deprived and overpopulated environment the artist encounters this inspirational fortitude in women.
