A Commissioned Piece: A Still Evening—Karoo Landscape with a Personal Touch
A few months ago, I was approached by Domenec De Lorenzo with an exciting challenge: to create a painting of the Karoo landscape with a very specific vision in mind. Domenec’s request was clear yet open enough to allow me the freedom to explore the nuances of the land that I love so much, while incorporating his own personal preferences. The result is A Still Evening, a piece that brings together the iconic elements of the Karoo and Domenec’s desire for a more vibrant, human-inhabited scene.
A Vision Shaped by the Land
When Domenec first reached out to me, I sensed his long-held admiration for the Karoo and its distinctive landscape. The Karoo is one of those places that, once seen, stays with you. It has a raw beauty, both serene and formidable, that’s impossible to ignore. Domenec wanted a landscape that captured that essence—rugged terrain, dominant mountains, and the wide-open spaces that stretch endlessly under a vast, unbroken sky. For me, this was a wonderful starting point, as the Karoo has always been an endless source of inspiration.
The Karoo is a land of extremes: blistering hot summers, cold winters, dry, cracked earth, and yet, an undeniable sense of life thriving against all odds. The more time I spend in this remarkable place, the more I see the beauty in its harshness—its weathered, wind-swept plains, its unpretentious farmsteads, and the mountains that loom large in the distance, commanding attention. Domenec’s vision was one that embraced this starkness, while adding a personal touch to make the landscape feel lived-in and real. The mountains, which often play a background role in my larger works, were to dominate this composition, their formidable presence anchoring the piece.
The inclusion of the mountains was a natural fit for me. The Karoo mountains are not just geographical features—they’re the lifeblood of the land. They’ve stood for millions of years, enduring time’s passage while shaping the history and culture of the people who live among them. When you paint the Karoo mountains, you’re not just capturing rock and earth—you’re painting memory, history, and a landscape that’s seen generations come and generations go.
The Lived-In Farmstead: A Shift in Perspective
While the Karoo landscape itself was a familiar subject, Domenec had a request that challenged me to approach the commission from a new perspective. He wanted the scene to include a lived-in farmstead, something more dynamic and alive than the abandoned buildings I’m usually drawn to. As many of you know, I tend to gravitate towards the beauty of decay—the quiet dignity of old, abandoned structures, often with just a hint of human presence. Whether it’s an old windmill creaking in the wind or a long-forgotten farmhouse falling into disrepair, there’s something deeply evocative about those moments where human presence feels just beyond reach, but still very much a part of the landscape.
But for this painting, Domenec envisioned a different kind of scene: a space where humans are present, working, living, and interacting with the land. He wanted a farmstead that felt inhabited, with signs of current human activity—perhaps a freshly plowed field, a simple cottage with smoke rising from the chimney, or a donkey cart on the move. This shift in focus pushed me to rethink my usual approach and infuse the painting with a sense of life that goes beyond the remnants of past generations.
In this way, the piece became not just a landscape, but a portrait of a way of life—a reminder that the Karoo is a place where people continue to live in rhythm with the land, despite the sometimes harsh conditions. The addition of a donkey cart wending its inexorable way through the scene helped to animate the landscape, giving the painting a sense of movement and a connection between the land and its people. For me, this was one of the most rewarding aspects of this commission: capturing the quiet, often overlooked moments of daily life that make the Karoo such a unique and special place.
Movement in the Karoo: A Subtle, Yet Powerful Presence
The inclusion of the human figure in the painting also added a new layer of depth and meaning. Domenec’s request for movement was something I particularly enjoyed. Typically, my figures—if present at all—are often hinted at through objects and remnants of past lives: the abandoned cart, the rusted windmill, the crumbling wall. These elements speak of people who once lived here, but they are silent, evoking a feeling of absence rather than presence. In A Still Evening, in accordance with Domenec's brief I needed to shift that focus and bring a human presence to the forefront.
The donkey cart, with its steady, rhythmic pace, became, besides the dominant farmhouse, a secondary focal point of the piece. It serves as a visual anchor in the road, guiding the viewer’s eye through the composition while also bringing a sense of life to an otherwise still landscape. The driver, bent slightly forward, perhaps lost in thought or focused on the task at hand, is a quiet but vital part of this scene. The cart itself, old yet sturdy, is a symbol of the timeless ways in which people in the Karoo have interacted with the land for generations—using animals to help plow fields, carry goods, and navigate harsh terrain. There’s something incredibly grounding about the image of a donkey cart slowly making its way through the wide, open spaces of the Karoo, a reminder that life here is still lived in a way that is closely tied to the land and its rhythms.
The Warm Light of the Karoo
For me, one of the most important aspects of this painting was the light. Domenec requested that the scene be bathed in warm light, something I’ve come to embrace in my own work, and I did my best to portray that here. The way light transforms the landscape, casting long shadows and highlighting textures, is a key element of my process. In the Karoo, there’s something particularly special about the light during the golden hour. I often speak of the golden hour—the time just before sunset when the sky takes on a golden glow, and everything seems to soften and become more intimate.
I’ve always believed that light is more than just a technical consideration in a painting; it’s a way to infuse a scene with mood and emotion. My intention here was that the warm light in A Still Evening should do just that—and hopefully it has done just that. There’s an almost tactile quality to golden hour light, as though you could feel the warmth on your skin as if you were standing in the landscape yourself, and that's what I always want to portray in a Bonney painting.
Reflecting on the Creative Process
Creating A Still Evening was a rewarding and deeply personal experience. It gave me the opportunity to explore a familiar landscape from a different angle, and to bring Domenec’s vision to life in a way that was both true to the essence of the Karoo and also reflective of his personal connection to the land. The painting is, in many ways, a dialogue between my love for the Karoo’s quiet, timeless beauty and Domenec’s desire to see the land through a lens of life, movement, and warmth.
This commission reminded me of the importance of collaboration in art—the way a client’s personal vision can push you to explore new possibilities, take creative risks, and expand your artistic practice. It’s always a pleasure to create something that feels meaningful to both myself as the artist and the person commissioning the work. When I look at A Still Evening, I see not just a Karoo landscape, but a story—a story of place, of people, and of the quiet, enduring beauty that defines this unique part of the world.
A Final Thought: The Power of Personal Connection
At the end of the day, this painting is more than just a commission. It’s a reflection of Domenec’s connection to the Karoo, and a reminder of how art can bridge the gap between the personal and the universal. It’s about bringing a piece of the land into someone’s home, capturing a moment in time, and creating something that speaks not only to the viewer’s eye, but also to their heart.
If you’ve ever considered commissioning a painting, I encourage you to think about the personal stories and connections you’d like to see reflected in the work. Each painting is a journey, a dialogue between the artist and the client, and the result can be something that transcends the physical space and speaks directly to the soul.
If you’re interested in a bespoke commission, I’d love to hear your ideas. The process of creating something unique, tailored to a client’s vision, is always a deeply rewarding experience. Whether it’s a landscape, a portrait, or something more abstract, there’s a special kind of magic that happens when art becomes personal.
Feel free to reach out through any of the following channels:
- Enquire via my Portfolio Page here on my Artwork Archive profile
- Email me directly at petebon@icloud.com
- Cherie De Villiers Gallery in Johannesburg: cheart@global.co.za
- Visual Vibes Gallery in Clarens: visualvibes73@gmail.com
- Uniquity Gallery in Capetown: larissa@uniquityartgallery.com
- Or just give me a call at +27829236191