Taléta
about the artist
TALÉTA WILLER
Specializing in oil paint and charcoal Taléta is a professional painter and commissioned portrait artist based in Stellenbosch. She is best known for her emotional portraits and narrative paintings. In a remarkably short period of time, has emerged as one of the country's well known realist artists.
Her talent, which rivals that of the late nineteenth century painterly realists such as John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla and Anders Zorn, is outstanding. Like these great painters of the past, Taléta is a virtuoso artist. Her canvases convey the magical aura of convincing imagery emerging out of a field of paint.
Realism has been misunderstood through most of the twentieth century as an art of imitation. In truth, when practiced by a painter like Taléta, realist painting is a powerful creative force. Many viewers are drawn to her art thinking that it looks just like a photograph. Actually Taléta's vision is the opposite of what a camera does. A photograph tends to flatten an image, reducing all relationships of color and shade to a stiff mechanical pattern.
With a highly sensitive eye, she sees nuances of value and hue that the camera and most people can not see. More incredibly, she is able to translate her highly nuanced vision into a painted image. Her work combines her love of realism with personal allegories. She especially loves painting children, and seeks to convey all of her subjects with honesty and sensitivity.
Taléta was self taught until she had the opportunity to study with several renowned artists including Vladimir Volegov (Sweden) and Michelle Dunaway (USA)
Along with a busy painting and and mentoring schedule, Taléta runs a private art school out of her studio in Stellenbosch and teaches workshops all over the country.
Her work can be found in numerous private collections around the world including United States, UK and Tanzania.