Hector Janse van Rensburg explained

Shitty Watercolour
Birth Name:Hector Richard Janse van Rensburg
Birth Date:1993 10, df=yes [1]
Birth Place:Cambridge, England
Style:Faux-naïf
Patrons:Reddit
Field:Watercolour, illustration
Alma Mater:Alcuin College, York

Hector Richard Janse van Rensburg (born 27 October 1993),[2] [3] better known by his pseudonym Shitty Watercolour, is a British painter and cartoonist who started posting watercolour paintings on the social media website Reddit in February 2012, and later expanded to publishing his work on his own website, on Tumblr and on Twitter.[4] [5] He graduated from the University of York with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics.[6] [7]

Background

Janse van Rensburg is from Cambridge and attended Hills Road Sixth Form College. His mother is Scottish and his father is South African.[8] In 2011, he won a Wilkinson Quincentenary Prize, awarded by St. John's College, Cambridge, to the best entries in an essay competition for high-school students.[9]

Boredom and depression led Janse van Rensburg to revisit an old watercolour set and seek subjects to paint. Already a Reddit user, he realised that submissions, comments, and usernames on the website provided him with ample illustration opportunities.[2] [10] At first the quality of his paintings was, in his own opinion, accurately described by his Reddit username Shitty_Watercolour. Encouraged by the response from Reddit users however, among whom he gathered a devoted following, his painting skills improved greatly.[11]

Influences

Many people have mistaken the artist for Sir Quentin Blake, best known for illustrating children's books written by Roald Dahl. The painter considers this a compliment, and while denying that he is Quentin Blake, acknowledges that he is greatly inspired by him.

Works

Shitty_Watercolour became popular on reddit by posting his interpretations of pictures posted by "Redditors" (Reddit users), illustrating various comments on the subreddit /r/AskReddit, and illustrating usernames of redditors. He often welcomes celebrities during their reddit AMAs ("Ask Me Anything") by posting a painting of them. He has painted his own interpretations of classic artworks by painters such as Edward Hopper and Leonardo da Vinci.[12] Since early 2013, he has been going through a "sloth period", during which he has been painting sloths based on famous pieces of art.[13]

Janse van Rensburg worked for the BBC for a few months,[14] and has done paintings on commission for Intel, Lionsgate, ASUS, CNN, USA Network, BuzzFeed, and Prizeo.[15]

Janse van Rensburg provided the illustrations for Daniel Howell's coming out video in June 2019.[16]

Janse van Rensburg created the artwork for the software package management system Yarn.[17]

Philanthropy

In October 2012, he streamed live a 12-hour painting session on YouTube to raise money for, a non-profit organisation which aims to provide drinking water in developing countries. Redditors donated a minimum of $10 to have a photo of their choice painted in a 5 cm by 5 cm square.[18] [19]

In July 2012, he painted a watercolour painting to help a redditor propose to his girlfriend, and more paintings to celebrate their engagement.[20]

Media coverage

Shitty_Watercolour is consistently listed as one of the most popular and influential Redditors.[21] The painter's portrait of President Barack Obama during his August 2012 Reddit AMA was published on the President's official Tumblr and on various news websites, including CNN.[22] [23] This portrait of Obama was hung in the campaign headquarters. His impressions of classic artworks and his paintings of sloths have also received considerable attention in the media.[12] [13] [24]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Shitty Watercolour on Twitter. Twitter. 8 April 2015.
  2. News: A Reddit Mystery Solved: The Identity of 'Shitty_Watercolour' . Max . Knoblauch . . 12 March 2014 . 12 March 2014.
  3. News: Meet the man behind Reddit's favorite watercolor paintings . . 16 June 2014 . 17 June 2014 .
  4. News: Reddit's (Best) Worst Painter Turns Comment Threads Into Art . Angela . Watercutter . . 12 June 2012 . 9 June 2013.
  5. News: He turns posts into paintings on Reddit . Fernando . Alfonso III. . 21 February 2012 . 9 June 2013.
    - Web site: 40 Really Bad Watercolor Interpretations Of Photos On Reddit . 26 April 2012 . BuzzFeed. 9 June 2013.
  6. News: The Best Worst Artist on Reddit Recreates Classic Paintings in Watercolor . Angela . Watercutter . . 10 December 2012 . 9 June 2013.
  7. Web site: Shitty_Watercolour's Reddit AMA . 19 February 2012 . Reddit . 9 February 2014.
  8. Web site: my mum is Scottish and my dad South African lol. SWatercolour. Twitter. 20 February 2017. 21 August 2020.
  9. Web site: Wilkinson Quincentenary Prize Winners . . 17 June 2014.
  10. Web site: 'Shitty Watercolour' Paints Reddit Users Photos With Ease . 4 June 2012. . 9 June 2013.
  11. Zhu . Olivia . Art on Demand . . 31 December 2013 . . . 9 February 2014 .
  12. News: 10 Adorably Shitty Versions Of Classic Paintings . Ryan . Broderick . . 7 December 2012 . 9 June 2013.
    - News: Famous works of art reimagined by Reddit's shitty_watercolour . Fernando . Alfonso III. . 7 December 2012 . 9 June 2013.
    - Web site: Legendary Redditor Artist Re-Imagines The Classics in Shitty Watercolor . Rueda . Drew . 12 December 2012. New Media Rockstars. 9 June 2013.
  13. News: Artist Goes Through His "Sloth Period" . Chelsea . Marshall . . 14 May 2012 . 9 June 2013.
    - Web site: These Sloth Watercolors Are the Cutest Watercolors Ever . Davies . Melanie . 14 May 2013 . Jezebel. 9 June 2013.
    - Web site: Artist Goes Through His "Sloth Period" . https://archive.today/20130624181856/http://www.zimbio.com/Painting/articles/yIQozXVgzOB/Artist+Goes+Through+Sloth+Period . dead . 24 June 2013 . 14 May 2013 . . 9 June 2013 .
  14. Web site: r/AskReddit - What's the best response to "why are you so quiet'?. Reddit. 21 October 2018 . 21 October 2018.
  15. Web site: Works done on commission. shittywatercolour.com. 2 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140709210200/http://shittywatercolour.com/work. 9 July 2014. dead.
  16. Dan Howell Comes Out As "Basically" Gay, Answers Speculation About Relationship With Phil Lester. Tubefilter. Geoff. Weiss. 14 June 2019. 14 June 2019.
  17. Web site: Yarn . Yarn . 12 July 2019.
  18. Web site: Meet The Redditors Who Rule The Internet . Hickey . Walter . Lubin . Gus . 13 March 2012 . Business Insider. 9 June 2013.
  19. News: Reddit's shitty_watercolour launches charity paint-a-thon . Fernando . Alfonso III. . 4 October 2012 . 9 June 2013.
  20. News: Reddit's shitty_watercolour helps couple get engaged . Fernando . Alfonso III. . 10 July 2012 . 9 June 2013.
  21. News: The 6 best novelty accounts that turn Reddit into art . Kevin . Collier . . 19 July 2012 . 9 June 2013.
    - News: The 10 most influential people on Reddit in 2012 . Kevin . Morris . . 14 December 2012 . 9 June 2013.
    - News: The most famous reddit accounts. Felipe. Hoffa. 1 August 2017. 1 August 2017.
  22. News: President Barack Obama gets upvoted . Dorrine . Mendoza . . 31 August 2012 . 9 June 2013.
  23. Web site: In case you missed it, President Obama met Reddit yesterday (and answered a bunch of questions) . August 2013 . Tumblr . 9 June 2013.
    - News: The Best Of President Obama's Reddit AMA . Jessica . Testa . . 29 August 2012 . 9 June 2013.
    - News: Presidential memes: Obama believes in Internet freedom, kills Reddit . Kris . Holt . . 29 August 2012 . 9 June 2013.
  24. News: 15 Celebrities As Sloths . . 28 August 2013 . 9 February 2014.

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