The Song Within the Brushstrokes

Sharing my art with the world brings a deep sense of joy—but also a quiet awareness of vulnerability. Every painting reveals something of my inner world: my reflections, struggles longings, and the glimpses of wonder I’ve found along the way.

Creating art, for me, is far more than a way to earn an income. It’s a visual and personal expression of life. Each piece I make feels like a verse in a larger life-song, and I invite you to sing along.

The love for creativity runs deeply through my family line. My grandmother—after whom I was named—painted landscapes in careful, deliberate squares. My father shaped beauty through woodwork and architecture on our family farm. My mother turned every dinner table into a small masterpiece of care and presentation. I grew up surrounded by their quiet artistry, and those early moments became the spark for my own creative journey.

When I was twelve, I sold my first painting—two red parrots—through a small gift shop across from the local SPAR in Standerton, South Africa. My goal was to save enough money to buy my first silver flute. That inaugural painting and that first flute became the prelude to my creative repertoire: art and music, two channels through which I still express myself and bring something aesthetically meaningful into the world.

Over the years, I’ve faced both external criticism and the inner pressure to be perfect in my skill of art. But through the years, I’ve learned to let go of striving and create from a place of authenticity. I’ve discovered that true creativity flows not from fear, but from freedom—from being rooted in the quiet and accepting assurance of knowing who you are.

Art has become the place where I feel most alive and most connected—to beauty, to pain, to meaning, and to the harmony that moves through all of life.

So this is my story, this is my song.

Over the past few years, my work has evolved toward a more intentional pursuit: to create art that points beyond itself. My hope is that my paintings will speak to something deeper in you—reminding you of what is true and enduring.

“Art, if it can be ascribed value, is most valuable when its beauty (and the beauty of the truth it tells) bewilders, confounds, defies evil itself; it does so by making what has been unmade; it subverts the spirit of the age; it mends the heart by whispering mysteries the mind alone can’t fathom.”
Andrew Peterson

As you encounter my work, may it speak to your heart and invite you to rediscover the quiet, redemptive beauty woven through your existence.

Elize Roelofse

Elize Roelofse (born 1983, Standerton, South Africa) is a visual artist based in Wassenaar, The Netherlands. Working within the discipline of abstract realism, she employs a layered technique with ink and acrylic underpaintings beneath nuanced applications of oil. Roelofse is best known for her works that merge social allegory with spiritual reflection, deeply rooted in her South African heritage and guided by her faith. Her paintings invite contemplation on themes of grace, resilience, and the beauty that can arise from hardship.

Roelofse’s compositions reflect her interest in the human condition and the transformative potential of art. Among her most significant bodies of work is the Rhythm of Hope series, a project that underscores her commitment to art as a means of fostering connection and transformation. Through this series, Roelofse integrates creative practice with social engagement, using her work to contribute to community-based initiatives in underprivileged contexts.

Elize Roelofse has participated in a group exhibition in Amsterdam, and her work is displayed at a local studio gallery in her hometown. Her paintings are represented in private collections in both South Africa and The Netherlands. This cross-cultural artistic perspective reiterates her socially engaged approach to contemporary painting.

Elize holds a BA Honour's Degree in Visual Communication (Cum Laude & Top Achiever) at The Open Window Art Academy.

https://elizeroelofse.com
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Rhythm of Hope