One of the most spectacular stars of the 1980s was Derrick Nxumalo, who was born in 1962 in Dumisa, inland from the South Coast of Natal. A strong and confident personality, not easily diverted, is the mark of is important artist.

After leaving Phindavela High School, where he passed standard Eight, Nxumalo worked as a waiter at a hotel in Scottburgh, and subsequently moved to Westville and en to Durban to work as a gardener.

Early  in 1985 he came to the Art Centre with a roll of modest watercolour paintings of houses and gardens. I as immediately impressed and asked Addleson of the Durban Art Gallery to come to see them. She bought one them, as did several other people with an eye for early talent. In 1987 Nxumalo decided to go to work on the Vaal Reefs mines to earn money to pay lobola.

During the two following years, despite what must have been extremely difficult conditions, his work developed remarkably quickly. He produced some fine paintings which he sent to the Art Centre. Among them was the outstanding Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company, which was bought by the Tatham Gallery, his 1987 university of Zululand winner Indawo 'Yase Welkom, and Rainbow Chicken Farm, which was exhibited on the 1988 Cape Town Triennia.

Clive Menell of Anglo-Vaal bought several of his paintings from the Art Centre, and Nxumalo was commissioned to do some work for the new Anglo-Vaal building, including a design for a tapestry woven by Marguerite Stephens.

At the end of his mining contract in 1989, Nxumalo returned home to try to establish himself as a full-time artist. But family misunderstandings caused many problems. Fortunately, his plight came to the notice of Paul Mikula and he was given space to work and live at the premises of architects Mikula Associates in Durban. He made full use of these facilities, often working up to 18 hours a day. He now lives and works at his home on the South Coast.

In 1989 Nxumalo was one of 100 artists asked to donate a small painting for a fundraising exhibition One Hundred artists for Life. at the Elizabeth Gordon Gallery in Durban, in aid of the Heart Foundation of South Africa. A judging panel selected 10 works to be sold by auction at a fund-raising dinner. Nxumalo's painting was chosen as one of the top 10 and on the night received the highest bid of R1 250.

In my opinion Nxumalo, of the many self taught artists we have seen progress and receive recognition, has been the most adventurous in terms of technique and subject matter. When someone warned him that felt tip pen paintings would fade, he changed to acrylic paint. I offered to find someone to advise him on acrylic use, but he set about teaching himself and paints straight from the tubes of paint.

From his first early water colours, through the time he was on the mines, when he was using felt tip pens. to the facilities and space he has now, his progress has been phenomenal. He draws from his mind, acute observation and imagination, without any hesitation in putting down his mark.

One of his painting measures nine metres, starting on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal and travelling along the Drakensberg to Johannesburg. It is probably his interpretation of a journey he made, though it is in no way like a photographic documentary of the journey but rather a transformation of reality to a kaleidoscope of vibrant colours and patterning.

Nxumalo's subject matter is more often than not cityscapes and tourist attractions, perhaps not for the subject itself but for what he can do with it in terms of his unique artistic expression.

One of his most magnificent paintings is of Roberts House, the premises of Mikula Associates, encompassing the old Victorian house and including the stained glass windows, new buildings, exotic trees, flowers and the car park and cars. The scene, however, is merely the inspiration for a mosaic of shapes and colours.

The painting is owned by Paul Mikula and hangs in the entrance of Roberts House, which belonged to an old Durban family whose last surviving occupant was Ester Roberts. She was a founder member of the Institute of Race Relations in Durban going back to around 1929 I can't help feeling pleased that her family house has been recorded with such vibrancy by an African artist.

In 1992 Nxumalo worked with Malcolm Christian at his Caversham studio and produced some successful silk-screen prints which were exhibited at the Grahamstown Festival that year.

Once he had his own studio, Nxumalo no longer needed to sell his work through the African Art Centre, and now he sells it independently. But we have continued to liase on his behalf with local and overseas people interested in his art. In 1993, Andrew Verster persuaded Nxumalo to have an exhibition at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg. Not surprisingly, it was a sellout.