Dirk Pretorius

Dirk was born and raised on a farm in Zimbabwe. Looking back at his early years he revelled in the farm environment – but less so in the farming life itself and more in escaping from farmer’s son chores and immersing himself in the raw colour, sounds and fragrances of the African bush.

After school he followed the family’s ‘sensible’ advice in graduating with a business degree, and only in his late 40s, having moved to the UK, did he pick up a paint brush and oil paints in earnest.

In 2010 Dirk joined the C21 Art Group of Oxfordshire-based artists, a group started in the 1980s by the well-known artist and teacher, Prue Pardue. Everything he knows about oil painting has come from Prue’s exacting tuition and guidance.

Dirk has exhibited regularly with the C21 Group in Oxfordshire at St Hilda’s College, The North Wall and the Woodstock Museum gallery. In his own right, he has exhibited at The Owen Mumford Gallery, Chipping Norton, and in Oxfordshire Artweeks, since 2011.

In 2018, Dirk was invited to join the Oxford Art Society (OAS), and he has exhibited periodically in their Members’ Exhibitions.