Having a spot of bother!

I composed my next post from the Delta in Word on my little netbook and then tried as I had done on my last entry, to post it to my blog.... for some reason it seems I am unable to. No matter which way round I try to achieve it, the result is the same and I cannot copy and paste it either! Very frustrating! As it is typically long, I didn't fancy typing it all out again, so Kate suggested I post it on their web-blog . So please click on the link if you'd like to read it and go to March in their archive list, where you can find my posts to their blog during my stay.

Hot from the Okavango Delta

I have been in Seba Camp, which is in the north western area of the Okavango Delta, since Friday 4^th March. I left England on Tues 1^st March, flying overnight to Johannesburg and then getting a transfer flight to Maun, Botswana in the afternoon of the 2^nd. From there I was picked up by a driver from Audi camp, located some 12kms outside of Maun, which was where I stayed until the morning of Friday 4^th. Audi Camp is a lovely camp catering for campers who bring their own tents, to providing several choices of tent to stay in. I opted for a twin-bedded meru, which was perfect for a couple of nights. Around the camp there were many birds and a pair of long-tailed starlings had a nest in a tree trunk hole with chicks just a paces from my tent. Tree squirrels scurried around and I enjoyed being able to "acclimatise" and chill out there before heading up into the Delta.

The flight to Seba Camp from Maun is about half an hour, flying over the Delta, which is already in flood, the weather was cloudy but very hot and muggy. I had great views from my little window as we flew over vast tracts of land interspersed with massive amounts of water – and the flood has only just started! Apparently the water level hasn't dropped considerably from last year's flood which was big in the amount of water. So they are expecting the flood levels to get higher this year as the new flood adds to the remnants of the last. The Delta has a cycle of high and low flooding over a quite number of years and it is now into a high flood part of that cycle.

Seba Camp is nestled around a lagoon and my beautiful "tent" looks out across it, which does mean that I have the sound of frogs at night. They are very loud, or so I thought the first few nights; I seem to be getting used to them now and find I am falling asleep more readily at night. Also at night an elephant comes to rest, sleep and browse against an "anthill," which is a huge termite mound between my tent and the next. Night time also brings out the fireflies (glow worms) which dance about in the darkness over the lagoon and the reeds around it; I have heard zebra, hyena and hippo not forgetting, of course, the elephant on the nights he visits.

The camp is not fenced so a watchful eye and good bush sense is needed when walking around as it is easy to stumble upon an antelope, monkeys or elephants. Signs of hippo are evident in camp and hyena visit quite regularly too. Just the other evening someone casually mentioned as we sat eating our evening meal (the "back of house" dining area is al fresco) that there was a hyena passing by. I looked up and was amazed just how close the hyena was (probably about 10 paces away) and how it stood looked in on us before casually sauntering off.

During the day I have seen francolins, vervet monkeys and bushbuck around my tent. I say tent… it's more like a canvas chalet. It sits on top of a stilted wooden platform with wooden steps leading up to a door and a deck that spans the width of the tent platform. From here I can sit and look across the lagoon to the Delta beyond, with my binoculars, camera and sketchbook. 'Tis a thoroughly pleasant way to pass some time.

I'm still kinda finding my feet, tuning into the camp routine and the EFA's (Elephants for Africa) work schedule. To give you some idea I am getting up about 5a.m. so that I am ready to go to breakfast between 6-6.30a.m, which is when it gets light. After breakfast I have been out in the Landrover with Kate, Mphoeng or Charlie by about 7a.m or just before. They do a route check every day where they follow either a set or random route around the tracks in the area looking for wild, and tracking the collared, elephants. This usually takes a couple of hours unless they see an elephant and can do a focal. A focal is observing the subject for a given amount of time, Kate's team does 30 mins. During that 30mins they note what the subject is doing every 5 mins such as walking, standing, feeding, dusting. If anything noteworthy happens in between the 5 min they note that too. And if the elephant drops some dung they take a sample from this, when it is safe to do so after the elephant has left. Then back at camp Kate's team start their office work. Lunch is at noon with a game of Bananagrams sometimes happening afterwards before office work etc continues for the afternoon. The evening meal is around 7pm and then everyone retires around 8pm. It gets dark around 7pm so as I am not to walk alone in the dark at the moment I am escorted back to my tent after Dinner.

During the time that Kate and Co are working on Office things I am at my tent or wandering around the camp. I have been sketching and have done a colour rough of the view across the lagoon. I upload my camera photos several times a day to my "netbook" and also write my journal during these quiet times too. I'm not doing too badly on the photos… so far I have over 800 uploaded!

Each Saturday Kate goes the Boma at Abu Camp (which is about 5-10 mins drive away) to take dung samples from the herd and take measurements like height and foot sizes regularly. Sunday is their day off so no need to get up so early then.

I have been snapping away with my camera gathering as much photographic reference as I can and at the same time getting my eye in on the details, colours and feel of the landscapes. For the first week I have concentrated on "settling in" , making sure I know my way around, feeling my way around the camp routines and generally allowing time to figure out what I can and can't do. And also I think it is good to allow time for the camp personnel to adjust to me being part of their day. My sketching has thus far been limited to around camp only, as the opportunity to spend time sketching whilst out is not there at the moment. I am conscious that Kate, Charlie and Mphoeng are all very much at work and have their own time scales for the day. So I hope that I can arrange to spend some hours out with one of the guides a few times so that I can stop the vehicle to sketch and possible paint out in the bush somewhere virtually where I want and for a good amount of time. I have already spent 7 hours out in the bush with the Abu herd and their mahouts. That was a great opportunity for me to observe and spend time sketching each individual elephant to familiarise myself with the body shapes of the varying ages; which range from 18months to 51 years. And as the mahouts are quite happy for me to join them whenever I want, I dare say I shall be spending a lot more time with the Abu elephants.

To say I have been blown away by this place would be an understatement…. It's just awesome in scale and beauty. Every second I'm living in a dream and I fear I'm going to wake up soon and be back in the UK.

Artist and Illustrators magazine March 2011 Issue

So now the March issue is for sale I can now post an image of the painting I did for the Masterclass article I was asked to do for this publication.

Unfortunately the image in the magazine has come out a lot darker than the original, I think my screen settings may be different to the publishers, so if I am asked again I must try and remember to check that with them. Still, I’m very pleased with the article and hope that the readers of this magazine will enjoy it as much as I did painting and writing it.


The intro to the step-by-step explains why I chose to paint gorillas.

“This painting came about as I wanted to produce something that I could use to tie in with this year’s fund-raising conservation campaign of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA), which is raising awareness of the problems facing the world’s ape species. But I didn’t want to portray wild apes, as I have not seen them in the wild.
For a number of years now I have chosen to base my paintings only what I have seen first hand, and therefore visually understand. Bristol Zoo Gardens (whom I work for) have a lovely family group of western lowland gorillas who would be perfect subjects, as I have seen them often and know a little of their characters.
I also wanted a positive image to reinforce the zoo’s commitment to conservation for this species and something with the “Aah Factor” that would appeal to a wide audience. A mother and her youngster - Salome and Komale, seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Every animal is important, of course, but I think Komale, is rather special because after 20 years of not having a baby, Salome received ground-breaking fertility treatment in 2004 and little Komale was born in December 2006. This painting of them both depicts him when he was just under two years old, a real cutie and a great success in the breeding programme as Salome’s blood line is very important.”

Back in October 2010, during my Artist in Residence week at the Nature In Art Museum and Art Gallery in Gloucestershire, UK; I started a painting of a camel and rider. This was an experiment for me to try out water-mixable oil colours for the first time to see if they were the answer to my question of what paints I would take to Botswana for my field trip. Although they work and look like oils, they are formulated so that water can be added to thin the colour for easier blending and also for washing brushes afterwards. This makes them more environmentally friendly than traditional oils, yet still giving me all the advantages of them, and that was what I was looking for to use in such a situation.

I have since finished the painting, but had not got around to posting it here on my blog… so here’s the final piece… it’s a small painting on stretched canvas (40 x 30cms).

Artist and Illustrators Magazine March 2010

Towards the end of last year I was contacted by the Artist and Illustrators Magazine, asking me if I’d be interested to do another Master Class for article for them. Of course I was delighted to be asked again and jumped at the opportunity.

I can’t say anything about the article at the moment.. not until the magazine is issued at the beginning of February (the March Issue), which is actually not that far away now. I will do a more detailed post on the article once it’s out in the shops.

Elephants For Africa Trust Exhibition Project.

Back in 2007 I met Dr Kate Evans of the Elephants For Africa Trust (EFA) at the Bristol Festival Of Nature. We got talking and as a result of our conversation I was invited out to see their research work in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Can you imagine how delighted I was to be asked?

This wasn't just a 'jolly', we had an aim in mind... during my time there I would gather reference and experience the landscapes and wildlife first-hand with the view to holding an exhibition of paintings done as a result of the trip to raise awareness and funds for their invaluable work.

The EFA’s research centres on young bull elephants. They study their progress and behaviour within bull society from the time they leave the natal herd (a female led and based life) finding their feet and treading carefully around the mature breeding bulls in a male based life until finally they are at breeding age too. This side of African elephant social structure and behaviour is much less studied than the matriarchal side of their society of the females. The results of their research will enable conservation bodies, governments and wildlife management to better assess the needs of the full scope of elephant conservation.

It has been a struggle to save for and attempts to get funding failed several times and at times I felt it was never going to happen. But Dr Evans was very kind and understanding and kept the window of opportunity open for me until, at last, things gradually all came together in the latter half of 2010. So now I am at the point where flights are booked and I leave at the beginning of March for a month long trip to Botswana. Can you sense me smiling like the Cheshire Cat?

In getting me to this point I'd like to thank my family and friends for their encouragement and financial support; Bristol Zoo Gardens for awarding me a good sum of money towards my flights through their Staff Development Fund; the camp management where I shall be staying for their generosity, Dr Kate Evans for her patience and the invitation and my best friend’s Dad, Mr Askew, for commissioning me to paint for him… of course, it had to be…. elephants. Without all their help it would be have been a few more years before I could afford to go, if at all. So a huge thanks from me to them.

So come March I shall be flying out to Johannesburg, then on to Maun in Botswana where I shall stay in a camp just outside of the town for two nights. Then I shall get a plane up to the camp in the Delta and stay in Heaven for some weeks.
Towards the end of my stay, the plan is to visit a local community where I can get the children drawing and painting, which should be great fun as apparently they've not done much of that before.

Then I fly home at the end of March to start Phase Two of the project.. working towards the exhibition. I’ve already got lots of ideas for paintings… and I’m sure I shall come back brimming over with many more.

I hope to be able to set my little laptop up with internet access so that I can post a few reports of my adventures for you from the Delta… but as yet that’s still to be worked out.

This trip and project is a dream come true for me. Firstly to be in Africa in one place for a decent length of time; not just a few days before dashing onto another camp/park/town. I really feel I would gain so much more from being able to 'settle' for a few weeks and get a better understanding of the landscape, to see the same places on different days in differing light and weather and how the animals move through and use it.

Also.. this project is directly involved with wildlife conservation. I have supported various conservation bodies/projects over the years, but it has always been 'at a distance'. This trip will give me the chance to see conservation research first-hand, spend time with the dedicated folks who carry out the research and make it their lives. To tap at least a fraction of their combined knowledge is an opportunity I savour.

And finally the end result will be an exhibition, with lots of interest and sales (hopefully) of the paintings (the proceeds of which I shall share with the EFA Charity) and to bring their good work, wildlife and beautiful Delta to the attention of a few more folk back here in the UK.

Can't wait!

Is it too late to wish you a Happy New Year?

I hope you had a good Festive Season and are now well into the swing of 2011.

My year has gotten off to a good start and my fingers and brushes are well crossed hoping that it will continue. Just before Christmas I received news that my long hoped for trip to Africa was actually able to go ahead. This is very exciting for me and I will explain all in the next post.

Also, prior to Christmas, I was asked to write another article for the Artist and Illustrators magazine; again I will explain more in a later post.

I shall be at the Nature In Art Museum and Art Gallery, Glos, UK in October with my friend and fellow artist Frances Deakin; we had so much fun last year we are going to share studio space again for this year.

Which leads me to something else involving Frances. She has set up a website for artists, photographers and sculptors called Click 4 wildlife Art and a selection of my work can be viewed on there.
http://www.click4wildlifeart.com/

I shall also be doing another week long batik course at the Gloucester Arts and Crafts Summer School, Glos in July.

I will do my best to update you on any forthcoming events etc as they crop up. I have a few irons in the fire, so to speak, and if/when they are confirmed I shall let you know about them too.

May all you wish for and need come to you throughout the year.