Christo du Toit

Born in 1986 in the Lowveld of Mpumalanga, Christo du Toit grew up immersed in the untamed beauty of the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, where his parents built and ran a rustic safari lodge called Shinga. It was in this setting, surrounded by wildlife, that Christo du Toit’s passion for drawing animals first took root.

After relocating to Hermanus in 1997, Christo du Toit began his artistic journey under the mentorship of local watercolour artist Peter Earl. With Earl’s encouragement, Christo du Toit developed a style marked by freedom and expressive risk-taking—a signature he describes as delicate recklessness.

Christo du Toit’s style relies on the unpredictable nature of the creative process as its foundation, preferring to let each work grow and evolve spontaneously over time. While every new piece begins with a sense of uncertainty and angst, this emotional state becomes the platform from which the art takes shape and manifests.

His most recent series features meticulously detailed wildlife portraits drawn in microfine ink on fine art paper. These works emerge through a process of intuitive meditation, where lines flow before conscious thought, resulting in pieces that are as spontaneous as they are precise. Although the subject matter is serious, the narratives also carry a subtle touch of tongue-in-cheek humour and leave space for the viewer’s interpretation—an element that is paramount to the artist. Each artwork is extremely detailed and spontaneous, taking on average two to three months to complete.

Now based in Muizenberg, Cape Town, Christo du Toit works from his studio and proudly identifies as an environmental artist. His work has been exhibited throughout Cape Town and collected internationally. He has collaborated with prominent conservation institutions such as WWF Switzerland, the Goethe-Institut Namibia, and most recently exhibited at a United Nations (UNDRR) summit in Windhoek, Namibia.

Christo du Toit’s work is currently on display at The Artists Gallery, located at 34 Bree Street, Cape Town. Visitors can experience his compelling wildlife series firsthand and engage with the artist’s powerful call for ecological awareness.

“I have always seen my work as pieces of mind—revealing the discovery of life, love, and everything in between.”
— Christo du Toit