Young and inspirational, Anico Mostert is an artist pushing the boundaries with oil painting and printmaking. We catch up with her to find out how she does it

Please tell us more about who Anico is and what you do? 

I am a multidisciplinary artist, painter and printmaker from Cape Town. I graduated from Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town in 2017, where I majored in printmaking. I’m currently working from my studio in Simon’s Town and feel very lucky to be able to have a creative space in such a beautiful part of Cape Town. These days I mostly paint with oils, but I would love to get back into printmaking this year. 

Where do you draw the inspiration from to create your art?  

I am inspired by life around me. I want the viewer to be able to explore the quiet moments captured in my works – what might’ve happened and who might’ve just left before? Most of my interior and still- life works are about that gentle part of your living space – where you drink your coffee in the morning, then drink your tea after work. It’s the space where taking a moment for yourself is easy – the way it is and the way it looks are just what makes you feel good. My figurative works are inspired by relationships and experiences I have with the people in my life; where people are present, feelings of intimacy or lack thereof are called into question; how the spaces we find ourselves in could reflect the way we are feeling, giving us a moment to reflect on what led us there.  

You recently held your first exhibition. Tell us more about it and what the experience was like.  

My solo exhibition was the first time since varsity that I had the opportunity to work on a body of work and consider how all the paintings fit together to tell a story. It was really cool to share that story and see how people respond to it in their own way.  

Tell us about your first memory of painting: Did you always want to be an artist? 

My first memory of painting is when I was in preschool and we were asked to paint flowers. I went through a phase when I was little when I only wanted to wear dresses and that day my mum made me wear pants. I remember being in a bad mood because of this and therefore painting all my flowers black and brown. My mood still pretty much determines the colours
and subject matter of my paintings.  

What has been your biggest challenge thus far when it comes to being an artist? 

I would say a challenge has been to power through moments of self-doubt and accepting that some days are more productive than others.

Words by Yashna Balwanth