In December last year, I hatched a crazy plan: to paint my experiences in Africa in a kind of journal style text & image paintings. I hadn’t painted in 10 years but suddenly it was like an urge to do this. Since then, I’ve been painting whenever I find time for it. It’s nowhere near perfect, but I do see improvement from the first paintings to now. Looking forward to where this journey will take me!
I always thought that Dürer’s portrait of a rhino was an example of an artist who tried to draw an animal that he had never seen. Dürer didn’t actually see a rhino, but his drawing was far more accurate than I thought – it was just a different kind of rhino. Dürer drew a Sumatran rhino which is far more plated than the African varieties I know so well. Yesterday I say my first Asian rhino in Berlin Zoo, and this is my hommage to Dürer!
Another favorite: the klipspringer. Mrs. Klipspringer – without the horns – is slightly larger than her husband, and, when we saw them, also decidedly more brave. She had already crossed the road in front of our car when he was still checking us out from a nearby boulder. He decided that we were not safe and darted away – and then she had to go back as well, of course.
Klipspringers feel safe on the rocks, so that’s where you will find them. If you look at their hooves, it’s like they are walking en pointe like a ballet dancer. They are unbelievably quick when they scamper up a rock to get to safety.
Our favorite bird is the secretary bird. On our recent trip to Pilanesberg, seeing a secretary bird was no. 1 on our wishlist. Our second day in the park gave us a nice sneak preview: a secretary bird far, far away. The next day got better: first we saw a secretary bird flying. Then we saw one in a field but behind a lot of shrubbery. After lunch, we tried again, and we hit the jackpot. Two secretary birds, and we were able to follow them for a while. Walk walk, stamp stamp, munch, walk walk. Beautiful creature!
If you follow my posts, you know that I love misty mornings. So you can imagine I was happy this morning in Pilanesberg! The antelope in the foreground is a tsessebe.
Sometimes I think that actually I want to be a painter or good at drawing. Instead I just play with my photos till they please me!
The first elephant we saw on our recent trip to Pilanesberg was steadfast in his conviction that the road was his – and his only – to walk on. He was right, of course!
Mapoza is a stunning lion and the dominant male of a pride in the Thornybush Game Reserve. His right eye is cloudy because of either a birth defect – a congenital glaucoma – or an injury early in his life. Whatever the cause, it hasn’t hindered his success in life!
Of all the photos I took during our trip at KwaMbili Game Lodge, this is my favorite. As a friend said: His right eye is his spirit eye with which he looks into the world of the ancestors. That’s absolutely believable!
Where the male buffalo’s horns touch each other on the forehead, the female has skin and hair. The horns are no less intimidating though!
Awesome wonder 