“ ….she loves to observe people in the course of their lives and manages in her vibrant paintings to capture the nuances of everyday life in the heat of the tropics. Her paintings offer the viewer a truly rich visual experience.  The larger works in acrylics are becoming increasingly sought after and many of her paintings now hang in both private and commercial collections in East and Southern Africa, Australia, Europe and the US”    Cape Fine Arts Portfolio   


“Tessa’s  work is singular and therefore not easy to classify.  The trouble I have is that her paintings are both narrative, and figurative, but that's not the essence of her art. They're not really folk or primitive except in the most sophisticated sense. They are somewhat decorative, in the 19th century sense of the word and somewhat illustrative, but those are both pejorative terms now.   We are immediately delighted by the simplified figures, the stories, the saturated colour fields, the patterns, the charm, and a sense of optimism or joy.   I haven't got a word that expresses all of that.  Perhaps there is an African phrase which would describe the unique enchantment of her paintings.”  Mick Reasor  (artist and illustrator)

"South African artist Tessa Edwards' paintings have a unique idiosyncratic quality which people cannot help responding to.  Amusing, powerful, evocative and joyous, they illustrate the ordinary lives of extraordinary people."  Lucy Hayden - Africa Review