Larney started painting his Holy Grail of Cricket under the Oaks at Newlands Wednesday morning. He decided to do the painting after he was invited to watch the cricket. The painting will be sold for R35000.
Larney, who grew up in Heideveld, started painting at the age of four. One of his teachers was Dulcie September, whom he witnessed being arrested in their classroom. He was nine at the time. “That incident was the reason I paint today.”
Later he attended UCT’s Michaelis School of Fine Art. After becoming involved in politics, he went into exile in Australia.
Over the past 25 years he has produced thousands of paintings. His work is found in many collections and institutions, including the Musée de * ’Affiche in Paris and the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. Larney also painted in Provence, France, and landscapes in Turkey, Italy, Indonesia California and South Africa.
“Not many artists worth their salt would have been able to complete a painting of this nature in less than a day. Most artists would have taken a week. My life and painting has been a journey. I love painting landscapes because we all resort to nature to find our resources,” he said.
Larney said he wished he had painted Nelson Mandela. “He told me to always come back to South Africa, which I am doing. And not to separate my work from the country. Even though I am staying in Australia, I still love this country. As a black person it is the first time I am visiting Newlands cricket ground. I have also always loved the minstrels and it was amazing to have watched them on Tweede Nuwejaar.
"But I am disappointed about the drug abuse and poverty on the Cape Flats. I am planning to start with classes for art teachers, so that they can teach the younger generation,” he said.
Larney will be releasing 24 more paintings in South Africa soon.
Cape Argus