William Onker

Softly spoken and quietly accomplished, William Onker is a self-taught emerging artist who has made huge strides in both technique and observation in the 10+ years of his painting career. Sketching from a young age, William’s skill wonhim recognition and the annual art’s prize at the Kraaifontein school he attended. After school, he worked in the garden service sector, progressing to forest clearing and producing firewood. Now in his early forties, William has made painting his fulltime occupation and is a natural -his varied subject matter evidence of both the serious & light-hearted sides of his personality. In his enthusiasm, he has produced some 600 paintings over the past five years& participates in Cape Town’s ‘1st Thursday’ events.

Painted in acrylics, William’s ‘Township Series’ shows acute awareness, based on real life experience. With themes such as Tjaila Time (the return home at day’s end), Majoli’s Braai Brazier, early morning mist & late afternoon shadows over Khayelitsha, Langa&Gugs, he celebrates the colour& ritual of the humblest of settings, where life thrives beneath a meshof overhead wires, satellite dishes & solar panels. With spontaneous daub and flourishing brush strokes, these landscapes sometimes verge on impressionist.

By contrast, the overall sunny vibrance of his ‘Vineyard Series’ displays a palette quite
different to the cool township backdrops and symbolize his transition to oils. The depth and wide vistas of these compositions, incorporating mountainous settings with several horizons, remote homesteads and warm autumnal shadows, stand as evidence of the artist’s versatility and artistic skill. More recently, William has proved equally competent at capturing cameos of life in his figure painting & portraiture.

In the collections of numerous South African& international art collectors and with works as far afield as Australia, America, the U.K. & Germany, he is an artist well worth investing in.