Description
Jay Norman 1909 – 1999
South African artist Jay Norman was born in Kroonstad, Orange Free State, in 1909. Her mother introduced her to painting. Influenced early on by Irma Stern and Maggie Laubser, she developed her own cheerful style, experimenting with watercolour and palette knives. Her first paintings were dark and loose, as though she were seeking her individualistic style.
Jay Norman loved painting commonplace objects and landscapes. Her still lives are colourful and she often painted poppies, lilies, sunflowers or simply a bunch of mixed flowers, the interior of a happy home, a table decked with food and wine. She painted items found in her own home: a yellow chair, a red coat, a cosy interior with comfortable chairs, side tables, or a view from her window.
She also paid particular attention to people, depicting anglers with their catch of the day or girls holding bunches of flowers – paintings that can be easily understood and enjoyed.
She usually wrote the title, signature and date on the back of each painting, and framed her work herself in white or beige.
