Barberton Studio

Where materials gather in daylight

Late afternoon light enters through tall steel window frames, illuminating workbenches strewn with red Barberton soil, oxidised copper plates, and half-dried oil pigments.

Daily Fragments

The physical workspace

Workbenches hold the physical history of each painting—unwashed brushes, glass jars of ground mineral pigments, and linen canvas fragments marked by graphite scribbles.

Elemental Inputs

Three core mediums

Each material carries its own timeline. Soil grounds the canvas in place, copper oxidises over months, and oil paint retains the immediate stroke.

Barberton soil

Oxidised copper

Oil and graphite

Raw mineral earth gathered from local hillsides, crushed by hand into fine powder and bound with walnut oil for deep, permanent ground tones.

Thin copper sheets exposed to air and vinegar baths, developing unpredictable green and teal verdigris crusts before attachment to canvas.

Traditional oil pigments layered with loose graphite marks, allowing quick structural scribbles to show through slow, translucent glazes.

Arrange Studio Visit

Private studio visits

Collectors and curators are invited to view works in progress by appointment in Barberton.