Got a boring wall that needs something extra? Take a look at what our Tjhoko Champs runner up 2019 Charlotte Kleynhans did to solve this problem.
I grew up with an Iron Woman as Mom. From childhood, I learned that as a woman, I can achieve anything. No matter how big or small the task, you grab it by the horns and wrestle it through. She did not think twice to build, break or paint a wall soon. She is unknowingly my inspiration from an early age. The love for paint, make beautiful and create runs through our veins.
The day I decided to enter the first Tjhoko Champs competition, I faced a very big challenge. But I remembered what my Grandpa taught me: “with all your heart” … and I grabbed it by the horns and put heart and soul into it.
I knew I wanted to create something that could carry a message and remind me of that message every time I walked past it. So I decided to paint a wall. What else would be big enough to make a proper impact? My feeling was always “old” and “new”, something that is in contrast to each other. I always thought of old, yellow and mottled wallpaper that was halfway off, and underneath it was always the nice, deep and rich colours. Little did I realize that I was depicting people around and in our everyday lives.
We as humans tend to look past others that look yellow, stained and uninteresting. And we don’t bother going to the old wallpaper because it just might not matter to us. But if we can take some time and stand by those who push society aside … we find out that they have the most beautiful golden hearts and sincere personalities that can enrich our lives! And also the other way around, so many people look pretty and bright from the outside, and stand out above the rest.
If we look at them closely and pull down the shiny … we see the yellow and mottled wallpaper on the inside. So yes, my wall provides me with a life lesson every day I walk past him. Stand still and spend time on what you may not think is important, you may just be surprised by what you find!