I’ve been dreaming, doodling, drawing and painting since I was a boy, but the journey here hasn’t been a straight line.

I grew up on farms in South Africa—places where the land stretches wide, mountains carve the horizon, and forests whisper if you let them. That natural world imprinted itself on me. Later in life, camping and time spent outdoors became not just a welcome break from the pressure of work, but soul-care, a way to reconnect with the wonder and stillness that was woven into my being years ago. It’s no surprise, then, that landscapes became my artistic language. For me, the act of painting them inserts shadowy pause into the heat of the rush, observational highlights into the dull glaze of daily routine. It slows my breathing to accommodate gasps of wonder and engages my mind with conundrums and challenges and my spirit with peace and gratitude. Whether on location, or drawn from memory, imagination, or reference, painting gives me ways to express that God is present, and beauty is everywhere, if we'd take a moment to see.

Though I studied art in high school and hoped to pursue it professionally, life led me into the world of education. I became a teacher, then a curriculum designer, eventually heading up a team of instructional designers at a private university in South Africa. It was fulfilling work, even creative, but the creative part of me that wanted to paint never fully let go. I continued painting on and off—mostly for pleasure, friends, and family.

Uprooting from 370 years of Cloete history in South Africa my wife, two sons and I moved to the USA on the eve of 2023. Settling in Indian Land, South Carolina, I made a decision: at 57, I wasn’t going back into corporate life. I wasn't uprooting a life and a long family history to re-enter the rat race in a new land, but I was going to pursue what I’d carried all these years—the desire to create, to paint, and to live as a working artist, trusting that the desires I was gifted will serve someone in a meaningful way.

Currently I'm painting in acrylics, for practical reasons, from a corner in my family’s modest apartment - soon expanding to a garage workspace, when I can open up the oil paints again, while trusting for a studio in due course. My style is painterly and impressionistic - loose, expressive, and rooted in the idea that my art, although seen with the eye, should touch the soul. I’m chasing growth and my aim is to continually improve my craft and my voice as an advocate of creative expression.

Since arriving in the USA, I’ve started immersing myself in the 'new' landscape around me — taking back-road drives off the main arteries, strolling with my family through nearby woods, and beginning to put paint to scenes I encounter. We dream of exploring more of this vast and varied country, discovering more vistas and pitching a tent in new secret corners that will inspire the new landscape of our lives, as we begin to shoot roots for new generations of Cloete's in a new land.

My art goal is simple: to create art that brings joy, peace, and reflection into people’s lives. Art that becomes a quiet companion in someone’s home, a reminder of the beauty in God’s creation, and maybe — even if only subtly — a spark that awakens any form of creativity in others. I believe that creativity is a divine inheritance, and that when we touch it, we touch the hand of God. Through my art, I want to honor that connection, and help others do the same.

Since arriving in the USA, I’ve begun selling original works, participated in the South Carolina Ag + Art Tour, and submitted work for regional exhibits. This is only the beginning, but I carry decades of life, learning, and faith into every brushstroke — and I’m finally painting full-time, just as that boy on the farm once dreamed.

My dreams for this stage of life go beyond painting though. I have a number of other projects on the table (see the My Project Table tab) that I hope will contribute to families and individuals in other ways, and that is why I chose "Cloete Creations" as an operating name.