Dear friends & clients,
The year is quickly rolling into May & I presume you are also wondering where on earth the time went to?!
In my case I always feel pretty good in the beginning of the year- everything going nice & slow, things more or less planned out & all under control with my list of ‘things to do/accomplish in 2018’ close-by …but before I know it things unexplainably start picking up speed & here we are on May’s doorstep.
Before we all ‘run on’, I would like to let you know how 2018 has been treating me so far & share a few pictures.
As you know I spent January in the U.S .The month kicked off with the Dallas Safari Club Convention from the 4th to the 7th of January.
I don’t think people generally give the whole process of exhibiting abroad much thought, except that it sounds wonderful. It is indeed wonderful and an amazing privilege, but the logistics of getting your art from South Africa to the U.S & getting set up is a major project, not to mention moving it all from show to show. Not many people realize that there is actually nothing provided for the artist to hang their art up on-that is the artist’s problem. Last year I rented a very costly ‘set-up’ for this purpose, but this time around I actually invested in a ‘Knock-down artist’s booth’.
After the shows these panels go into storage until the next years shows. The Dallas show was quite successful, I had great chats & interaction with clients & friends alike & met a lot of new people. I felt a little bit more ‘at home’ than the previous year when everything was brand new.
Time to set up
A helping hand…
Dallas booth setup
Tourists in LA
Me and the very tall Will Smith & his lovely wife Casey
fter Dallas I met up with my husband who flew in from South Africa & we headed for a week in Los Angeles, California. This time around it was not about paintings, but all about avocado tree farming & agriculture which is my husband’s line of work. While the men visited farms, nurseries & orchards, us ladies did the ‘tourist-thing’. It was a great week & treat as I have never visited that part of America before.
From Los Angeles we flew to Midlands, Texas, to attend the Midlands Safari Club chapter fundraising event.
During 2017 John Sharp, a legendary PH who hunts in the Bubye Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe, contacted me. He wanted to know if I would be interested in helping to raise funds for the Rhino Anti-poaching-unit of the Bubye Valley Conservancy. I immediately knew I wanted to strengthen their efforts & we started planning a painting that could be auctioned off to benefit this unit. John contacted friends at Midlands, West Texas & they graciously agreed to let the painting be auctioned off during their fundraising event to raise funds for this worthy cause. I was also invited to attend & exhibit my paintings & that’s how our whole trip to Midlands came about. We met some wonderful people (you’ll see me with the very tall Will Smith & his lovely wife Casey) & it was a privilege to share my work with all of them.
Our last show for January was the Safari Club Convention in Houston. This again was a first & we loved the trip to Houston. We met some great people & it was nice to be able to share the magic of our African wildlife via my artwork & tell about our life & country. We also met a wonderful young couple- Chris & Kasey Shivers & they bought my beautiful large zebra painting.
Back in South Africa I started my year with some bird paintings. As most of you know my husband Abraham is an avid photographer & especially loves bird photography. Needless to say his beautiful images are a wonderful inspiration & I did a Collared sunbird, Malachite kingfisher & Lilac Breasted Roller. I also did some beautiful Black & whites of a wild dog, serval & hyena youngsters.
With the plight of the rhinos close to my heart, I decided to do a rhino painting for the Huntex exhibition. The mood that I wanted to capture was the darkened & uncertain future of these magnificent animals, but the ever-present ‘light of hope’ shining in from the left.
I also did a painting of a lion drinking water that I’m very happy with. The water ripples & water drops in his mane as he crouched down to drink immediately inspired me.
As you know you are always welcome to contact me should you have a specific subject/ painting in mind or a specific spot in your home or office in need of something ‘wow’.
Looking forward to hearing from you!