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African People & Wildlife Fund
www.afrpw.org
Drawing Upon Community is my second Conservation Expedition, in which I visited the African People & Wildlife Fund (APW) in northern Tanzania. APW works with rural communities to help them manage natural resources for the mutual benefit of people & wildlife.
Please visit the APW website for more details. |
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Africa Geographic Art Safari 2012
 The Bush House
Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
Sept 3-7, 2012
There are only 2 places remaining on the 2012 South Africa Art Safari. So please contact me if you are interested in joining me for 4 days of sketching wildife! Guests can have any level of sketching (or safari) experience!
Read more about my Africa Geographic Art Safaris.
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New Limited Edition Giclées
Serengeti Cheetahs (11x14") is a field sketch from my visit to the Serengeti in 2010.
Sleeping Lion (8x10"), below, was also sketched during my Serengeti visit. Both are now available as limited edition giclées. Please visit my website for further details.
See more:
Field Sketch Giclées
Painting Giclées |
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New Original Paintings
Maasai Acrylics on Canvas
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Maasai Men, acrylic on canvas 11x14" by Alison Nicholls |
On my recent visit to the African People & Wildlife Fund (APW) in Tanzania, I spent much of my time sketching people, particularly the Maasai who make up the majority of the local population. I try to avoid cliches in my work and wondered how to paint this well-known tribe of people without resorting to well-worn images. I was interested in body language, shapes, color and shadow so I started with compositions that involve painting people from behind. I often do this in my wildlife work, but here it allowed me to avoid the detail on the faces and concentrate on the shapes.
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Maasai Mamas, acrylic on canvas 11x14" by Alison Nicholls |
I wanted this piece to show an animated conversation underway between two Maasai women. It may sound politically incorrect to call them mamas but this is the term used for middle-aged women. I hesitate to say so but they called me mama too!
 | | Maasai Woman, acrylic on canvas 11x14" by Alison Nicholls |
All 3 of these pieces are fairly realistic in terms of composition, colors and design and it was a true test of my patience to complete the complicated designs on the shukas (clothing)! Having completed these, I will now be painting more Maasai acrylics but will use more loose washes of color and less detail - more in line with my usual style. I may even manage some faces too!
To see more of my Artwork, please visit my Website. |
The African People & Wildlife Fund
Sketching in a Maasai homestead or engang.
Being able to sketch in someone's home is a wonderful thing, especially when the home is a Maasai engang and the owners are a traditional, Maasai extended family. My visit to the African People & Wildlife Fund in Tanzania allowed me to do just this - thanks to the generosity of the Olmeriki family, who have a Living Wall boma on their property. (A Living Wall is a special boma design which protects livestock from predators and in doing so conserves habitat and protects predators. Click here to read more about this innovative solution to the problem of livestock depredation in the Maasai Steppe.)
 | | Sketching in a Maasai Homestead by Alison Nicholls |
It had rained this morning and the vegetation was too wet for grazing, so I sketched the goats and sheep around the homestead and then the cows, as they waited to go to pasture. The homestead is surrounded by an outer boma wall of thorny acacia branches. Inside this are the traditional mud and thatch houses of the various extended family members, and in the center is the Living Wall, which is where the livestock spends the night.
It was a wonderful setting for a sketch artist and spending some quiet time there allowed me to see a little of the daily life of the family. (Actually it wasn't quiet at all - as you'll hear from the video). But it was wonderful!
Please visit the African People & Wildlife Fund website.
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I hope you enjoyed my video, new paintings and giclées. At the moment I'm working on a painting commission of Tanzania, an elephant piece on canvas, and a very interesting painted dog piece. More of those in the future. And of course there are dozens of potential Maasai and livestock painting ideas swirling in my head. So no shortage of inspiration!
Until next time...
Take care.
Alison
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Nicholls Wildlife Art
(+1) 914 939-4023
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