Cape St Francis Artist Juliette Godfrey

BY JACQUIE JORGENSEN

Well-loved member of our Seals community and permanent resident for over two decades is an abstract artist and photographer Juliette Godfrey.

Her unique ability to find the ‘spirit’ in the inanimate aspects of nature through her lens has led to a series of experimental processes with the brush and ultimately breath-taking outcomes.

“BUT IT IS NEVER ABOUT THE OUTCOME,” SAYS GODFREY. “ART IS ABOUT PROCESS AND PLAY, AND THIS IS WHY I DON’T DO COMMISSIONS.

What my buyers buy is an experience that cannot be repeated if you are in the creative flow”.

HER OIL ON CRETESTONE SERIES IS FOOD FOR THE CREATIVE MIND OR MEDITATIVE SOUL AND CAN KEEP ME CAPTIVATED FOR HOURS.

I find a whale plunging into the depths of a kelp forest or the spirits of the trees moving through the mountain forest at daybreak. But, of course, this is the beauty of abstract art. What it is for the artist is different to what is seen by each member of its audience.

LIKE THE FLOW OF THE OCEAN, IT IS ALWAYS NEW.

In some Jungian way, Juliette Godfrey’s art is the outpouring of the unconscious onto the canvas, with archetypal

symbolism coming through organically in the play – uncontrived and authentically beautiful. “Spirit calls, and I go,” she tells me. And I believe her. I can feel it in her work. Her exhibitions include her buchu series at the Youngbloods & Arteye in Cape Town.

Buchu is farmed and distilled into oil on the farms where she lived and raised her

son for many years. The resin, which is her medium, holds powerful healing and transformative qualities.

THIS SERIES WAS AN HONOURING OF THE LIFE, THE LOVE AND THE

LOSS EXPERIENCED IN THOSE YEARS IN THE APTLY NAMED EXHIBITION “YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW.

Her large acrylic abstracts on canvasses as big as 3m x 2.8m are a burst of colour and movement, a joyful dance through the cosmos.

THEY SHOW THAT THIS ARTIST CAN GO AS HIGH AS SHE GOES DEEP IN HER CREATIVE

Her latest works, 70cm x 90cm oil on board, are again inspired by her photography. These range from portraits taken in India to abstract Turner-esque landscapes in shades of sepia and deep earthy hues.

She has sold works locally and has had buyers as far and wide as Mauritius and New York City.

All works printed here are available.

To see more of Juliette Godfrey’s work, the artist can be contacted directly on

+27 83 656 4319 or at Juliette699@gmail.com