Who would have thought you could make art out of the kelp that is lying on our beaches? Well, Andrew Roberts from Kommetjie is not only a painter and bronze sculptor but has now started a new trend with his kelp art.
“I walk the beach regularly and saw all this kelp lying around going to waste. I began wondering how I could turn some of the kelp which lay about into a form of art. It took me a while to come up with an idea on what to do,” he says.
His studio is at site 40 Imhoff Caravan Park and he has been living there for the past 10 years.
“After I decided on what art form to try, it took me over a year experimenting with dry kelp, finding ways to preserve and enhance the kelp into its current form of Dolphin Kelp Art.
“To date I have completed five different ‘sculptures’ of dolphins using kelp collected off the beach,” he says.
The kelp art is not his first encounter with an art form.
“I am originally from England and completed an art course back in the 70s at the Addiston Art College in London. That was the time when I lived in Shepherd’s Bush and shared my art passion with about 200 other budding artists, all living in the same area.
“We exhibited our art on the railings at Green Park but we never made the million with the one artpiece that would set the ball rolling for each of us. When I moved to South Africa I completed a five-month course in bronze sculpture in Simon’s Town,” Roberts says.
He has produced and sold various bronze sculptures, but he is trying all sorts of art to keep busy.