The 24″x 30″ works illustrated here were made on site in Botswana. The larger works are based on field sketches but were made in the studio. All works are oil on aluminum panel. The titles are incomplete at this point. Click the thumbnails and click once again to see [...] Continue Reading…
antipodes
Painting the landscape at opposite points of the globe
Beneath the Surface Lives a Mermaid
The pace has slowed, but there are more posts and paintings about Botswana to come in the next few months, the first of which has been composed by Meleko Mogkosi, fellow artist, friend and traveling companion in Africa.
By Meleko Mokgosi
Rudy, our guide at Tuli Block, a game preserve on [...] Continue Reading…
Okavango Field Studies
The following pencil and gouache studies were made in the Okavango Delta of Botswana.
If a Hippo Surfaces Nearby…
“If a hippo surfaces nearby” said Matsaudi Noga in a voice reminiscent of a flight attendant reciting safety instructions prior to take-off, “please do not attempt to jump from the boat”. I had just settled into the mokoro, a hand hewn log that serves as transportation in the Okavango [...] Continue Reading…
Elephant at Night
The full moon rose over the Okavango Delta as I lay in bed listening to the elephant wade through the water. The sloshing was a fresh sound, just like a person walking through the shallows only louder. And it grew even louder, so I got up to [...] Continue Reading…
Okavango
The Okavango Delta is formed by a river that has nowhere to go. The water that forms the Delta once flowed to the sea, but a fault in the earth’s crust is raising the floor of the Kalahari, blocking its path. As a result, the frustrated river has [...] Continue Reading…
Ceopede Baitsile
“I find it embarrassing that I have not visited most of Botswana’s significant tourist attractions of even seen some of her various landscapes. What I can say is that although much of the land is under ‘threat’ of loosing its natural appearance through rapid development, the government still manages [...] Continue Reading…
What Do People Want From Pictures Of Wild Animals?
Waiting for the Land Rover to arrive for the evening game drive, I lifted the cream soda from the curve of the cast concrete bar, slipped off the cow hide stool, and meandered around the edge of the lodge bar to view the frieze of African film stills. My [...] Continue Reading…
Elements of Style
Nothing botanical has as much charisma on the African stage as Baobab trees. At sunrise they begin the day in mauve, a difficult color in which to dress unless you have the dignity that comes from living a 1000 years or more.
As the sun rises over the winter savannah, [...] Continue Reading…
5 Paintings in Progress
I’ve been working in a pool house this week developing seven new pictures. Five of them are far enough along to share. They are a little more unfinished than usual, but I leave tomorrow for a road trip to the Makgadikgadi salt pans and the the Tuli Block, a [...] Continue Reading…
