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An amount of R36 000 was raised for the Hermanus Rainbow Trust at the Newton Johnson Magnum Art charity auction held on Friday evening at Newton Johnson Wines in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley.

A group of selected guests attended the auction where 14 wooden magnum bottles, each painted and decorated by well-known as well as up-and-coming local artists, were auctioned.

The beautiful artworks were on exhibition at the winery since 11 April.

Among the well-known local artists who parti-cipated in this unique auction were Hennie Niemann, Shelly Adams, Maeve Dewar, Titia Ballot, Jayne Beaumont and Lize van der Walt.

Bidding started slow with bids varying between R1 200 and R2 000 but as the evening progressed, bidders became more generous.

Unknown Zwelihle artist Irvin Ntsiba was ecstatic when his bottle called African Design, skillfully decorated with copper, silver and gold colours combined with three dimentional elements of glass and beads, became the first artwork of the evening that crossed the R3 000 threshold.

“The exhibition and auction has been wonderful exposure for me,” said the wheelchair-bound artist. “I own nothing myself, but I am so glad that I could create something that can contribute to lessen the suffering of others.”

Auctioneer Leon Theron accepted a bid for R4 000 for Shelly Adams' artwork Spirited.

The well-known Hermanus artist depicted a very spiritual scenery as subject matter, combining the ethereal and the mystic qualities of wine and spirit. Wine has traditionally been used in religious ceremonies - as the body of Christ - and here the halos over some of the figures also suggested a godlike figure.

The highpoint of the evening was reached with the auctioning of Hennie Niemann's bottle Harvest.

The female figures on the bottle with grapes on their head portray the harvesting process. Niemann's use of uplifting, bright colours with hick brush strokes indicate the harvesting process as a joyous event. The fruit has a decorative quality and plays also with the fact that after being transformed into wine it has an effect on your head.

Theron really went to town in an effort to raise as much money as he could when auctioning this collector's piece, even to the point where he got rid of his shirt to encourage the bidders.

A bid for R5 250 from Dave Newton-Johnson, the brain behind the auction, was eventually accepted. Viviene Owen, chairperson of the Rainbow Trust said that the money raised would be used for needy people all over the Overstrand.

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