Belinda was raised on a farm in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, where as a child she drew and painted, and played with lumps of sticky black clay (udongwe). She particularly enjoyed the shapes of indigenous African trees and pots, and exploring the rural landscape for pieces of old china, bone, and fossilised wood.
She adored colour and was guided by a very artistic mother, later studying for a three-year diploma in Fine Art at Stellenbosch University, followed by an Honours year focused on illustration.
Faces are global, and were the first subjects she drew – and still does. She is inspired by faces that reflect both strength and calmness, similar to the land and the sea.
Belinda initially worked as an advertising illustrator and artist in both Cape Town and Johannesburg. The many fascinating cultures of South Africans influenced and developed her work, as well as the harsh industrial areas of Johannesburg.
After her marriage into a South African Greek family, several visits to Greece further influenced her love of colour and architectural forms.
Belinda now resides in the small coastal town of Kleinmond, about 90 km from Cape Town, South Africa. Kleinmond is situated on a lagoon, in a UNESCO-declared biosphere, in the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom. This area is renowned for the exceptional diversity and quality of its natural vegetation (fynbos) and Belinda is increasingly attracted by the distinctive shapes of these indigenous, heather-like shrubs and small trees.
