Born in 1948 in Germiston, South Africa, his early years were spent exploring the open veld that then surrounded the southern gold mines of Johannesburg. On horseback or bicycle, he would disappear for long hours to a fishing hole, a far off friend, or to chase paradise whydahs – birds burdened by elaborate breeding plumage, but still versatile enough to elude a horse. It was a world of freedom, wonder, and boyish adventure that set a tone for the man, who has a deep love for his country and for Africa.

Keith Joubert began drawing and painting from an early age. Annual safaris to the Kruger National Park with his family instilled in him a love and respect for wildlife and the landscape. He went on to study at the Johannesburg School of Art, following a course in Industrial Design mainly to assuage his parent’s fears of a career in fine art alone. Working for a time as a book illustrator, designing covers for romantic novels, he soon moved to start his own sign writing business in Phalaborwa. He freely admits that this move was inspired purely by the proximity to the Kruger National Park gate rather than a calculated business decision. Although he knew then that he needed to be closely involved in the wildlife areas of the lowveld region, it was some time before he gained the confidence enough to live solely from the sale of his paintings.

At first seduced by the paradise he now found himself in, it was while in Botswana that Keith became aware of the struggle for survival that rural villagers had with their environment. An elephant became a crop raider, and destroyer of livelihoods, beyond its image of a large essentially passive land mammal, and remnant of a Jurassic period. A giant herbivore that could threaten the life of herdboys or women tending the fields. A lion call at night, which reverberates, to the bone, took on a new, more vital, and awesome presence. Human figures crept onto the canvas alongside herds of animals. Their interplay implied by scale and use of colour.

From his current studio base, Joubert now travels north, west and east – perpetually seeking little known corners of the continent. His vehicle is a working tool that has been adapted for travel over often rough and unforgiving roads in remote areas. It is a matter of survival that it be reliable.
Whilst travelling, he keeps his notebook to hand and continually jots down notes and sketches in his peculiar shorthand. On return to the studio he then works directly onto the canvas. Sketching in the main subject mater with bold, courageous brush strokes.

Once the structure of the composition is laid out in this way, he continues to lay on colour filling out the background and creating textures with the thickness of the oil paint. Having structured the composition in his mind and notebook, Joubert’s working technique is relatively fast. This enables his paintings to capture and exude the freshness and energy of spontaneity – often enhanced by chance and accident in the behavior of the paint.