A talented Port Alfred artist who has already clocked up 600 hours over the past six months on a massive Nelson Mandela mosaic is counting the days until the intricate artwork is finally finished.
Andrew Donaghy, 43, yesterday said the epic portrait should take another 200 hours to complete and the finished artwork would be ready to hang in a popular Wild Coast backpackers in time for Christmas.
“This is by far the most challenging artwork I have ever done,” Donaghy explained.
“It is like putting a giant jigsaw together without plans or puzzle pieces.”
Although he has been an artist for years, the avid surfer said the Mandela commission was the first time he had ever attempted to do a mosaic portrait.
“The biggest challenge is trying to get the tones right, especially in the face.”
Starting out with a blank canvas, Donaghy sourced a picture of former president Nelson Mandela and sketched it out onto a cement board along with a SA flag and a famous quote by the globally revered statesman.
“It really was a daunting task when I started out with the flag as it was difficult to get all the different tones right.”
After mastering the tone technique on the flag, which included moments of stepping back to admire his progress only to realise it was not quite right and taking the bits he was not happy with off and trying again, Donaghy was ready to tackle Mandela’s face and grey hair.
“The face was the most difficult part; it was intense.
“I have always admired Mandela and wanted to get everything perfect.”
Thousands of tiny tiles were broken into small pieces and each one stuck onto the 1m by 1.4m board.
Although he would love to be a full time artist, Donaghy earns his daily crust as a sign writer and does his art during his free time.
“Doing artistic signs and screen printing is the easiest way to make money if you’re into art but are not famous,” the art school dropout explained.
Juggling his time between his day job and the mammoth mosaic, the quote that he chose to accompany the portrait sums up everything Mandela stood for in his life.
“Mandela said ‘it always seems impossible until it’s done’ which is appropriate considering what a big challenge this artwork has been.”
The idea for the mosaic came about in 2013 when Mandela died – Donaghy was working at the Coffee Shack backpackers at the time.
“Doing the Mandela mosaic is a huge honour for me as I was in Transkei when he died and got to witness the emotions people felt close up.”
“I have however got to the stage where I want to finish it so I can start a new challenge like a wildlife or seascape mosaic.”
Coffee Shack owner Dave Malherbe said he realised South Africa “was in debt to Mandela” when he died and asked Donaghy to come up with a piece to honour his legacy.
“I have seen photos of the artwork and it looks insane; it is amazing what he has done.” — davidm@dispatch.co.za
Mosaic tribute to Madiba nears completion
Andrew Donaghy, 43, yesterday said the epic portrait should take another 200 hours to complete and the finished artwork would be ready to hang in a popular Wild Coast backpackers in time for Christmas.
“This is by far the most challenging artwork I have ever done,” Donaghy explained.
“It is like putting a giant jigsaw together without plans or puzzle pieces.”
Although he has been an artist for years, the avid surfer said the Mandela commission was the first time he had ever attempted to do a mosaic portrait.
“The biggest challenge is trying to get the tones right, especially in the face.”
Starting out with a blank canvas, Donaghy sourced a picture of former president Nelson Mandela and sketched it out onto a cement board along with a SA flag and a famous quote by the globally revered statesman.
“It really was a daunting task when I started out with the flag as it was difficult to get all the different tones right.”
After mastering the tone technique on the flag, which included moments of stepping back to admire his progress only to realise it was not quite right and taking the bits he was not happy with off and trying again, Donaghy was ready to tackle Mandela’s face and grey hair.
“The face was the most difficult part; it was intense.
“I have always admired Mandela and wanted to get everything perfect.”
Thousands of tiny tiles were broken into small pieces and each one stuck onto the 1m by 1.4m board.
Although he would love to be a full time artist, Donaghy earns his daily crust as a sign writer and does his art during his free time.
“Doing artistic signs and screen printing is the easiest way to make money if you’re into art but are not famous,” the art school dropout explained.
Juggling his time between his day job and the mammoth mosaic, the quote that he chose to accompany the portrait sums up everything Mandela stood for in his life.
“Mandela said ‘it always seems impossible until it’s done’ which is appropriate considering what a big challenge this artwork has been.”
The idea for the mosaic came about in 2013 when Mandela died – Donaghy was working at the Coffee Shack backpackers at the time.
“Doing the Mandela mosaic is a huge honour for me as I was in Transkei when he died and got to witness the emotions people felt close up.”
“I have however got to the stage where I want to finish it so I can start a new challenge like a wildlife or seascape mosaic.”
Coffee Shack owner Dave Malherbe said he realised South Africa “was in debt to Mandela” when he died and asked Donaghy to come up with a piece to honour his legacy.
“I have seen photos of the artwork and it looks insane; it is amazing what he has done.” — davidm@dispatch.co.za
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