Gillian Cook

I was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1973. I loved art from as early as I can remember, and I was lucky enough to have parents who saw that and encouraged me from the start. I did my first watercolour class at age five. Drawing and paintng always brought me enormous pleasure.

I went on to study fine art at Rhodes University in South Africa, but really didn’t enjoy the academic art experience, and unfortunately lost the joy of making art. As a young adult, I dabbled here and there, but didn’t pick it up again seriously until the loss of my mother left me needing an outlet.

I started painting flowers for her in 2015 and my love affair with drawing and painting was rekindled. I worked really hard to teach myself how to use watercolours properly, making plenty of mistakes along the way and obviously I still make them today. But as they say, the lessons you learn the hard way are the ones you don’t forget.

I now teach adult watercolour and drawing classes and workshops from my home studio in Johannesburg, do commissions, and sell my paintings. I eat, sleep, and breathe art and it’s a job I love.