Graaff Reinet Church

The big church in Graaff-Reinet, taken just before dawn.  I love the drama that is added to the image by the darker sky, it makes the church building look even more impressive.  From history, this is actually the fourth church that was built in Graaff-Reinet up until that time and luckily this one survived.  The building was roughly based on Salisbury Cathedral in England and took only about 17 months to complete, the inaugural service was delivered on 11 September 1887.  The stone to build this church was obtained locally and there is room for quite a few people inside, 1250 to be exact.  (You can read more about the church and this Karoo town at www.graaffreinet.co.za).  This image is another one that was taken by Johan van der Merwe.

Most of the small towns you pass through in our country always has quite an impressive church, often in Church Street.  Am I right?  This image reminded me of that, together with the well-known Absa sign and roadsigns, and off course, the taxi.  All South African images that colour in this canvas.

This 40 x 50cm South African image is a challenging one and has 28 colours with quite a bit of detail.  Each box contains a stretched, printed and numbered canvas, paint, brushes and a page detailing the numbers for an extra reference.