ARTIST BIO

Inga Harper\'s Art Bio

Born in South Africa, Inga completed a B.A. (Fine arts) at University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in Pietermaritzburg. She and her husband then moved to Cape Town where they raised 2 young boys. During this time Inga ran her own ceramics studio, teaching both adults and children as well as producing her own ceramic artwork.

 In 1997 the family made the big decision to start a new life in Australia. Inga says: \" While Australia is now our home and we are very happy here,  the South African bushveldt and its wildlife is  indelibly part of me. As children my parents took us for many enjoyable holidays in the Kruger National Park where we could experience African animals in their natural surroundings.\"  Each year Inga and her husband return to South Africa to visit their parents and this inevitably includes a trip to one of the many game parks. These excursions offer wonderful photographic and sketching material as well as  providing inspiration and motivation for future art projects.

Presently, the theme in Inga\'s paintings is that of animals, not just African animals as she has also been commissioned to paint dogs and also a pet sheep!  The Zebra series she says was a wonderful experience as one discovers, on close observation, that each Zebra has its own personality and also, just like our finger prints, no two zebra have the same pattern of stripes.

Inga has simplified the painting down to one basic colour on a bare white canvas, with the stripes of the Zebra giving form to the animal. This reduction of elements, allows  the personality of the zebra, its \'life spirit\", to stand out. Inga\'s paintings speak of her love for nature and her interest in wildlife. She is keen to bring to people\'s attention the need for public support concerning the conservation of the world\'s natural environment.