Anja Botes is a full-time artist who travels through South Africa plein air painting her different destinations. She enjoys the constant new sources of inspiration and capturing them from life. She and her husband’s travelling journey began in August 2021, and they love experiencing the new landscapes -people and catching up with old friends.

Anja was born in Somerset West in 1996. She had a passion for art from a young age and wanted to become an artist. It, therefore, came as no surprise that her first exhibition was at Rialto in 2005, at the age of eight. She has a deep appreciation for nature and people as her subject matters and strives to capture light and atmosphere as the Impressionists did.

Growing up by the sea cultivated a deep admiration in her for the ocean. Anja enjoys working towards capturing its essence. She is most at ease when surrounded by nature and often draws inspiration from it, being captivated by its untainted splendour. In 2014 she first came across the concept of plein air painting (painting outdoors). After meeting artists Pieter Krugel and René Snyman in 2016, this world opened to her.

Throughout her career, Anja has been recognised on numerous occasions for her artworks. In 2014, she received the painting practical subject prize at the art school P.J. Olivier. While studying at Stellenbosch University, she achieved first place in the KuKo Photography, Arts and Writing Competition (PAWC) in the art division in 2015. Subsequently, Anja started doing drawing and painting commissions and took part in different group exhibitions and auctions.

She continued to cultivate her passion by attending painting workshops of the international accredited artist René Snyman and the ‘Drawing the Portrait’ workshop of David Kassan, winner of the ‘Portrait Society of America 2017’. She also attended the ‘Portrait in the Garden’ workshop by Alice Toich and ‘Elements of a Portrait’ by Elize Bezuidenhout. These workshops shaped her skill tremendously.

It was in 2018 that Anja became a full-time artist. Gaining momentum, she took on a two-month internship with artist Louis Jansen van Vuuren at Chateau de la Creuzette, France, in that same year. Upon her return, she ran her own gallery, Artisan & Artist, for a year.

Since then, Anja has participated in group exhibitions, including Woordfees exhibitions in Stellenbosch, titled ‘Knoop/ Knot’ and ‘Verdigris’, curated by Louis Jansen van Vuuren. Some of her works are on permanent exhibition at Giovanni’s@ Laborie (restaurant) and The Brazillian (coffee shop). She was selected as part of the top 40 for ArtB’s competition, titled ‘Vuleka’, in 2021.

Anja started hosting workshops in 2020 and enjoys transferring her knowledge and passion for art to others.