Gavin Rain is an artist from Cape Town. He studied art and neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town. Gavin is a pointillist. He started with pointillism around 2003/2004. Gavin gave this neo-impressionist painting technique a very unique touch. With exhibitions in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Venice, Chicago and others … Gavin has indeed become a familiar face.

Pointillism with a message

Gavin Rain cannot immediately explain how he arrived to this characteristic technique. It was preceded by various thought processes. A first thought came from looking at a picture of the surface of Mars (taken by the Mars Orbital Surveyor). Part of that picture was broken and contained only noise. Gavin Rain didn’t think of it as noise, but as a different kind of information, which also tells a story.

The second thought started with digital photography. Gavin is surprised at how much information is lost in the pursuit of an optimal digital experience and how little we care about that loss of quality. Gavin wanted a style that emphasises the loss of quality by making full use of the so-called dark-space.

His technique

Gavin Rain wanted to tell a story, a story of creating perspective. His message is clear: look at things from a distance. 

Rain’s style contains an extensive step-by-step plan and is therefore time-consuming. He starts with an image, for example a rough sketch or photo. Just like in a woodcut, he transforms gradients into alternating light and dark planes. The larger the circles, the less white of the canvas is visible and the darker the general image.

Every point is like a miniature woodcut with about five layers. From a distance your brain mixes these five colours and makes you see a mixed colour. With one colour per circle Gavin would have obtained a similar result. However, part of his message is to emphasise the beauty of a close-up. Things get interesting when you take a closer look. If we take a step back, we see the influence of people and things in our lives, the things that formed us. That’s why each point is different in colour and size. The combination of all circles forms the image. Gavin makes works of famous artists but he can also make a work of your lover!