Mizream Maseko
As a schoolboy in the former Transvaal, Maseko was fond of drawing. When he left school he initially began work as a house painter for an interior decorator. He was intrigued by the paintings and the framed reproductions that he saw in the homes of his employer’s clients and was inspired to take up artistic painting of his own. He acquired watercolours and oil paints and taught himself by reading and acquiring books on art and painting techniques, notably Max Doerner’s classic, The Materials of the Artist, first published in 1934. He then gave up house painting in favour of hand-painting designs on scarves for sale in a small shop. Here he was discovered by John Koenakeefe Mohl (1903–1985) (qv.) Mohl encouraged him to take painting more seriously and showed him some basic painting techniques which gave him more confidence. He later exhibited jointly with Mohl at Johannesburg’s Apollo Gallery in 1963.. Read More…
