The Spirit Of Australia

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A refreshingly honest and natural artist Luna is completely self taught and uniquely original. Proudly South African of Afrikaans heritage she has a gift for capturing the amazing beauty of the African wildlife along with the stunning scenery of the region. Studying Luna’s portfolio immediately communicates to the viewer a deep love of nature that has been cultivated by having spent her youth on the family’s farm.

Luna picked up her first brush at the tender age of seventeen but didn’t seriously begin her artistic pursuit until 2006. In the same year she entered her first major piece in the EPSAC New Upcoming Artist Exhibition in her home town Port Elizabeth winning the Merit Award for Best New Talent. Since then her artistic career has flourished selling numerous pieces both in South Africa and internationally, gaining quite a reputation in the process.

A portfolio of Contemporary Realism strongly reflects Luna’s early days living off the land and the close bonds formed with both fauna & flora resulting in stunning portraits and close up studies.

Since moving to Australia in 2011 she has also started focusing her considerable talent on our uniquely Australian wildlife and breathtaking outback landscapes and so a new chapter in her artistic career has begun.

Luna was born on the 3rd of February 1983 in Polokwane a major urban centre which lies roughly halfway between Gauteng and the Zimbabwean border.
However, due to health reasons doctors advised her parents that they move with her to a more tropical region and so when she was 4 years of age they ended up in Port Elizabeth. Also known as “The Friendly City” or “The Windy City” it is located on the shores of Algoa Bay and thus is blessed with a warm sea, benign climate, miles & miles of breathtaking coastline and stunning beaches.

Port Elizabeth is the 5th largest city in South Africa but as farming runs thick throughout the Vermeulen family’s bloodline a farm was soon purchased after their arrival allowing Luna to spend her early & teenage years about 60km outside Port Elizabeth on a 806 hectare farm nestled in the picturesque Elands River Valley.

The Elands River Valley connects with the Baviaanskloof Mega reserve so is rich with spectacular flora & natural wildlife like the odd leopard or for example South Africa's national bird the Blue Crane. It is also part of the protection area for the Martial Eagle. It was here surrounded by moody mountainous landscapes and breathtaking views that her deep love and appreciation for nature was born & cultivated. Even from an early age Luna’s heart bled for the cry of help and need that echoes through the Savanna and the hope that she might one day be able to offer some relief to the endless struggle Africa faces on a daily basis with poachers.

Talking to her she bubbles over with endless stories formed from fond memories of the farm life and all the pets that came with it. It is this love for nature that is profoundly evident as she brings each of her subjects to life on canvas. She left High School in the middle of 10th Grade but finished her Matric through home schooling. This enabled her to focus on her big love - competitive horse riding, but it was also during this period that through her mother’s encouragement to get a hobby she started painting