|
 Wouter Steenkamp (Tiny) was born in the small dusty Northern
Cape Town of Vryburg. In the fifties, during his musical
career, while on a tour in West End of London he changed his
professional name to Hugo Warren (the names of his two
brothers) as the English had some difficulty in pronouncing
his name at the time.
Hugo Warren
(Tiny) sang on many stages and acted in film and TV all over
the United Kingdom including a stint at the famous London
Palladium. In later years Tiny and Doreen (his wife) involved
themselves in entertaining the elderly by visiting retirement
homes. During one of these visits' Tiny was struck down by a
very old dormant spine injury and since have difficulty in
moving around.
It was in 1987
that "Tiny" decided to open the Zalah Gallery in his private
home in Johannesburg to assist 'up and coming' artists with a
venue to display their works, little realising that it was to
be the beginning of a new chapter in his life.
It was at this stage of his life, ex Sailor, Traffic Cop,
Salesman, Singer, Actor, and Director of Companies and now
nearing 60 years of age that he decided to teach himself to
paint and join that elite group of people, the art world.
He started painting in water colours but soon found that
oils were more satisfying to him. He
was later introduced to acrylic paints which
enabled him to experiment with finger painting. He
concentrates mainly on landscapes,
seascapes and now also on
wildlife.
He has been
involved with various Art Societies over the years, exhibiting
not only his own works but that also of his
fellow artists.
In 2001 he moved
to Port Alfred (Kowie) and he opened the Hugo Warren Art
Gallery at his home.
In addition to
his involvement with art, Hugo Warren is also a retired
Professional Singer who over the last eight years since his
arrival on the Kowie has presented a monthly Soiree at St
Pauls Church Hall raising much needed funds for a variety of
charities whom he supports.
Regretably, with the loss of the use of his legs, he is now confined to a wheelchair which has resulted in his giving up the Soiree and is now concentrating on improving his artistic talents with a newly established studio at his home.
His first solo exhibit will take place at the Passage of Art and hopefully attract a new interest in his work. |
