SKY_OVR_WATR_HOME — BRETT DE VOS

SKY OVER WATER _COLLECTION

Sky over water is a series of paintings inspired by the ‘all-day sunset’ light during the winters in Scotland.

I’ve always been obsessed with sunsets.

In fact after watching a few Terrence Mallick films I had dreams of shaping my career around them (Mallick has shot some films almost exclusively with natural light at ‘golden hour’). Growing up in South Africa as a director, for me the harsh, direct outdoor sunlight had always been a challenge to shoot in. Her sunset colours were gorgeous, but also incredibly high contrast on camera.

As I moved to Europe, I noticed the light became softer & more diffused: making everything feel like something out of a storybook. Of course this only fueled my obsession for sunsets & outdoor light in general. This helped to shape my entire approach to filmmaking: becoming less controlled & more focussed on fostering environments where magic & beauty could be captured (instead of artificially created).

Having moved even further North to Scotland, I was presented with another gift. While there are only a few hours of daylight during winter, the sky is at an almost constant state of sunset. I’ve never seen such beautiful soft hues spread across the skies in the middle of cloudy days, or beautiful backlit pink lines marking clouds in the early afternoon. Although the cold of winter is a challenge for my South African born blood, I make sure to go out into nature for a walk everyday, rain or shine, to experience & give thanks for these beautiful skies that I have the privilege of living beneath.

This collection is an ode to those Scottish skies & Her waters that reflect them.