Phulani was born in 1976 in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.  She is a self-taught artist and has always expressed herself artistically through different mediums, whether it be drawing, painting, photography or clothing design.  

Phulani focusses on portraits. And the actual focus of it is trying to bring about emotion because she is emotionally driven. She puts a lot of focus on the eyes because she feels we are all connect in that way.  

In fact, Phulani herself comes true in her paintings because she is emotionally driven but quite serious. She focusses on the eyes and does not want to take away too much from the eyes by putting too much emotion or smiles on the face, because that is how people interact and connect. 

All her works are “oil on canvas” and it can take 3 to 6 weeks to finish a painting. She basically makes up a face, she does not paint an actual person but she makes up a person. She takes 4 or 5 different photographs and makes up a face. It is not about what the person looks like, but she tries to get the emotion across. She is naturally born to detail and want the eyes to stand out. 

Phulani has always loved how Africa celebrated bright, rich colors and how beautiful they were used to represent and tell a story about a specific culture and a way of life.  Her paintings are her perspective of a beautiful continent and its people and the raw emotion that connects us all. 

It was during lockdown that Phulani realized why she has chosen the path of an artist and now she finally has the answer to the question that everyone asks…….” what makes you do it ”……” what drives you to create “……..and the answer is simple…….Because it would probably physically hurt if I didn’t !!!