Internationally celebrated plein air artist and former East Londoner Alice Toich is in the throes of early motherhood but carved out time to open an art exhibition for two Cape Town artists in a historic Cape country house last weekend.
Toich, 33, who was mentored by late East London artist Bernard Barry before studying art at UCT’s Michaelis School of Fine Art, at the Grand Central Atelier in New York and then in Florence, Italy, where she honed her classical drawing and painting skills for three years, is a hugely respected artist who works mainly by commission.
She has exhibited widely and her oil paintings of beautiful landscapes, sublime gardens and riotous blooms are to be found in collections all over the world, but last weekend it was her turn to heap praise on fellow artists.
The Where Wild Things Grow exhibition at the Wildekrans Country House in the Elgin Valley features the art of Caryn McArthy, whose magical domestic paintings of jugs of flowers, vintage vases and sunlit homey scenes sold like hot cakes, and Joanna Lee Miller, who studied in Florence with Toich and creates alluring landscapes you want to walk right into.
Both artists were thrilled that Toich stood between them in the floral loveliness of the country house garden to open their exhibition which was held in an 1811 barn.
McArthy, former creative director of Fair Lady magazine and also a florist, says Toich paints flowers in the way she would arrange them.
“The way she paints flowers is magnificent. She gets the light, the reflections and the juiciness of the blossoms. She is phenomenal.”
Miller said it was an honour to have the exhibition opened by Toich, who she met while studying art in Italy.
“Alice is a standout artist in the South African artistic community. She embodies creativity in every way.”
But for Toich, fierce dedication and passion for her art has had to be restrained since the arrival of her and husband Julz Sanchez’s daughters — Nova, two, and baby Alba — because babies make claims on time and energy.
Like many driven mothers, Toich has been grappling with doing it all.
“I had a very productive two or three years after we got married, I created a lot, did a lot of work, sold very well, had commissions and shows.
“I had catalogue online sales that I did and then we decided to have our baby Nova in 2021.”
By speaking to artists who are also mothers in advance of becoming a parent, Toich thought she was prepared; that it was possible to be a full-time artist at the same time as being a full-time mother.
“I had sought out mentors in my life for what I believed were people who were continuing their lives as artists while becoming mothers.
“I did a postgrad diploma with a friend and we shared a studio and she has a child and I remember questioning her all the time — where do you find time to paint, how’s the balance and the juggling act …
“She had wonderful tips. One of them is to have a studio away from home which I haven’t managed to do. Mine is still at home but I’m still breastfeeding Alba.”
Toich and her Italian second year head of instruction at Florence, who she describes as a phenomenal painter, even hosted a salon about motherhood and painting.
“So when I returned to Cape Town from Italy I was very sure it was time for us to start a family.
“I also turned 30 and that was a milestone for me and I was dying to have a family.”
And so when Nova was born, Toich carried on working as before.
“I didn’t take a day’s maternity leave. I realise now that was a terrible mistake.
“But I had big commissions to work on. I was painting heritage roses for Somerset West clients and I just carried on.”
Ten months in, she suffered burnout.
“Obviously it’s the trials and tribulations of becoming a mother — you bear a whole new person in yourself.
“Yes, you give birth to your child, but you also birth a mother and that’s you. And so that’s had a huge impact on me.
“Artistically, it has made the time I have to create work incredibly valuable.”
When Nova was two the Toichs welcomed their second daughter and available time to create became even more precious.
“Making has gone into other avenues for now. I’m still painting. I have commissions that I’m servicing for the next while until they’re done.
“I have an ongoing painting commission from La Motte [Wine Estate] in Franschhoek which I’ll be painting throughout the next year.
“I thought I had to prove that I’m going to keep painting, that I’ll never lose myself, but I’ve just realised that the years that I have with my children while they are young is going to be very short and I’m not interested in missing out on that.
“It’s been quite tough for me, but I’ve accepted that I am taking a step back career-wise and to just put a pin in the ambitions I have which are far-reaching and I know will come another time.
“Motherhood has basically rocked me to my core as I think it does to all women, but particularly to women who are ambitious.
“It becomes this fight between the time you need to work and the time you need for yourself and the time you need for your family and your husband.
“We are really in the thick of it now I’d say and are figuring it out one little bit at a time.”
Toich has come to the realisation that for the next two years most of her time will be devoted to her family.
“I don’t feel guilty about that at all.”
Is it different for men? Do they have the same push and pull struggles?
“No, definitely not. I have a lot of painter friends who are close to me and successful and we all have the same struggle and it’s that we worked really hard to get to a place in our careers that we adore but because of the simple biological fact that we birth children into the world and breastfeed them if we choose to and we nurture them because we are the primary caregivers and nothing’s going to change that.
“There’s the myth that you can have it all, which I do believe, but not at the same time. You have to give up something, you do.
“It took me a bit of time to accept that and it was a bit of a tough realisation, but now I feel like I’m on the other side of it.
“I don’t feel I’m giving up on anything. I just see my life in years and decades now more than I did before. This is a chapter.
“I see motherhood as an extension of my being. These are my children and I have influence on them.
“When I paint I’m telling the viewer what to focus on — whether it’s a pot of flowers or light streaming through a window.
“I’m choosing to focus on the girls and husband now. And I’m keeping my relationship with painting incredibly sacred.”
Against this background Toich has put a pause on her commissions for now.
“From the outside it looks like I’m stepping into a more traditional role, which I am. It’s incredibly radical for me.
“I’ve never sacrificed in this way, but I also actually love the concept of being a mother and a homemaker.”
Not having to put in for maternity leave or seek understanding from a boss is not lost on Toich.
“It’s not an accident. I’ve worked very hard to do what I love and have flexibility to work around my family; be closer to them and not have someone dictate time to me because I have a very strong call to the duty of motherhood.”
• Where Wild Things Grow is up at Wildekrans Country House on Saturday November 9 and Sunday November 10.
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