Maasai Man Field Sketch by Artist Alison Nicholls

Maasai Man Field Sketch by Alison Nicholls, 14x11"

During my recent visit to the African People & Wildlife Fund conservation project in northern Tanzania, I sketched many local scenes, often including the Maasai community members. You'd think that sketching someone wearing loose pieces of material should be fairly easy, but I quickly discovered I had to learn exactly how the shukas were worn - how many pieces of material, how were they layered and did men and women wear them differently? The younger men wear 3 differently patterned shukas with 2 of them tied around the neck and the third slung over the shoulders or worn as a hood on cold mornings. Older men wear 4 pieces "because they are old and they get cold quicker" was how it was explained to me! The women wear their shukas more like a pinafore with the top piece worn around the shoulders like a shawl. Once I understood this it was much easier to sketch, but there's still the difficulty of making sure my sketches looked like Maasai people and not Roman centurions! Hopefully I overcame this difficulty.

Until next time...
Alison

Wildlife and Conservation Artist
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Olive Baboons Field Sketches by Artist Alison Nicholls

Olive Baboons, field sketches by Alison Nicholls

In some parts of Africa baboons are a frequent sight and often ignored by tourists. But if you stop and watch them, they can be fascinating because of their social behaviour and the often hilarious antics of the youngsters in the troop. These sketches were completed in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. I rarely use green but after I finished the sketch I wondered whether their name, olive baboons, had unconsciously influenced my color choice!

Olive Baboons, field sketches by Alison Nicholls

As an aside, male baboons have canines longer than my German shepherd dog and the males can be highly aggressive when provoked. The Chacma baboons encountered around campsites in the north of Botswana can be intimidating when they have lost their fear of people. I have seen them tear heavy duty ammo boxes to shreds, open tent zips, tear the canvas on a tent with a padlocked zip and trash 'baboon-proof' garbage cans. When baboons discover that people mean food, that means trouble for the baboons in the long run. Signs in reserves reading "You Feed the Animals, We Shoot Them" are not an empty threat. It is wise to keep your food packed away, carry your trash out of the park with you, and let the baboons lead a natural life.

Until next time...
Alison

Wildlife and Conservation Artist
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Cheetah Brothers Field Sketch by Wildlife & Conservation Artist Alison Nicholls

Cheetah Brothers       watercolor field sketch 11x14", Serengeti NP, Tanzania, by Alison Nicholls

This was one of several cheetah sketches I was lucky enough to create while visiting the Serengeti National park in Tanzania. These 2 were young and pretty incompetant hunters (you don't sneak up on many antelope while sitting up like this!). But their inability to bother with camouflage or stealth allowed me some good sketching opportunities. I just hope that once I was finished, they took their hunting a little more seriously and managed to eat that day!

This field sketch is now available as a limited edition reproduction. There are only 25 in the edition, 11 x 14" in size, printed on watercolor paper using archival inks, all signed and numbered by me. They are priced at $120 each. Please drop me an email or visit my website to place an order.

10% of the purchase price will be donated to the African People & Wildlife Fund in Tanzania.

Until next time...
Alison

Wildlife and Conservation Artist
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Maasai Shuka Field Sketch by Wildlife & Conservation Artist Alison Nicholls

Maasai Shuka Designs, field sketch by Alison Nicholls

During my recent visits to the African People & Wildlife Fund project in Tanzania, I spent much of my time sketching the local Maasai people, known for their colorful robes or shukas. From a distance the shukas look red, blue or purple but when you see them close-up you realize just how complex the patterns and colors are. I knew that I would probably forget many of these details once I returned home, so I started sketching segments on a page of my sketchbook. I quickly realized that this was becoming a very colorful page and also a very popular one, as many Maasai men and women would come to see if their shuka was on the page.

A typical Maasai shuka with a check design.

When I returned home I found it was no less popular here, so I've created a limited edition reproduction from the field sketch.There are only 25 in the edition, 11 x 14" in size, printed on watercolor paper using archival inks, all signed and numbered by me. They are priced at $120 each. Please drop me an email or visit my website to place an order. 10% of the purchase price will be donated to the African People & Wildlife Fund in Tanzania.

Until next time...
Alison

Wildlife and Conservation Artist
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Sun Spots Revisited - original Cheetah Acrylic by Alison Nicholls



Sun Spots, 29x29"  original acrylic by Alison Nicholls

You may have seen this piece before. Or a very similar piece. Thats because I completed my original Sun Spots piece some time ago but I recently decided to paint it again. I took a look at the original and wasn't too thrilled with the top cheetah's jaw. I attempted to change the original but as usual I started finding other areas I would like to revisit as well. And even though the original was also an acrylic, it was painted in a watermedia style, which means changes are often just not possible if I am to retain the loose watermedia effects I like so much. So I started on the changes, knowing that after an hour of debate with myself I would scrap the whole thing and start again. Which I duly did.

And here's the second version of Sun Spots. Though I say it myself, I am really delighted with this piece. Its 29x29" so doesn't look its best on a small computer monitor. But while it was still stapled to a board in my studio I could sit and stare into the hot depths of the painting for some time. Eventually I covered it up so I could get to work on my next piece!

Until next time...
Alison

Wildlife and Conservation Artist
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Sketching in a Maasai Homestead - Artist Alison Nicholls in Tanzania

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.)

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!

Until next time...
Alison

Wildlife and Conservation Artist
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She's Come from America to Sketch Cows - Artist Tales from Tanzania

Cattle, Field Sketch by Alison Nicholls

Many people all over the world think artists have a screw loose. The reasons vary - in the west you get comments like 'how can you possibly expect to earn a living?' or 'wouldn't it be better to get a real job?'. In rural Africa artists are few and far between so they attract a lot of attention. But people are often still mystified about what it is that you want to sketch, and how.

Sheep, Field Sketch by Alison Nicholls

While I was sketching cattle at the Loibor Siret waterpump in Tanzania last July, Maasai men would come up to the vehicle and ask what I was doing. They thought it quite amusing that I had come all the way from America and was sketching cattle. 'Don't they have cattle in America?' was a common question. But when I returned to the African People & Wildlife Fund project in February to sketch a 'Living Wall' boma which prevents livestock depredation (the killing of livestock by predators) I was given all the help I could ask for. The children were told not to interfere with my work! And I even had tea halfway through. 

Living Wall (on right), Field Sketch by Alison Nicholls

I was able to spend time sketching the goats and sheep in the boma then the cattle as they waited to go out to pasture. Then I sat down to sketch the Living Wall itself. I had an audience - the men of the homestead - and although we couldn't communicate verbally, they commented on every brush stroke. I was very aware that my watercolor sketching methods (working from the background forward and from light to dark) must seem quite strange. But gradually they would see where I was heading with the sketch and I would hear a whistle of appreciation (the Maasai love to whistle!). I could happily have stayed there all day. But a quick look through my sketchbook takes me back there. And I'll be sending laminated copies back to the Olmeriki boma, where the family were so generous with their time.

Until next time...
Alison

Wildlife and Conservation Artist
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Postcard Artwork by Great Artists at Great Prices - the Mamaroneck Artists' Guild Taste For Art

Last time we held a similar art fundraiser, it was a resounding success. The numerous postcard-sized artworks were fascinating to see, although they didn't last long as they were quickly scooped up by the plentiful guests. If you are looking to expand your original art collection with a few small jewel-like pieces, or if you don't own any original artwork yet, this is a wonderful chance to pick up some lovely pieces for only $49 each. I have donated two pieces - both purple elephants!

So come along and meet us all in Mamaroneck on April 25th at the Town Center from 6.30pm - 9pm. Tickets can be bought in advance (to avoid queues on the door) from the Mamaroneck Artists' Guild  or on the door for $25. Food and wine will also be available.

I hope to see you there!

Alison

Wildlife and Conservation Artist
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Maasai Woman - Original Acrylic by Wildlife & Conservation Artist Alison Nicholls

Maasai Woman         original acrylic on canvas 11x14", by Alison Nicholls

My 2 previous posts showed paintings of Maasai men and women in conversation. This piece shows a lone woman sitting in contemplation. Many of the Maasai women I sketched in Tanzania were wearing numerous earrings, necklaces, bangles and ankle bracelets. The small metal disks on their earrings jangled as they moved and the disks also caught the light, even from quite a distance, so that you sometimes spotted the women by their jewelry before you even saw the brightly colored shukas they wore.
 

And in case you're wondering, yes, I may paint some faces soon. But I do love the mystery of the views from behind. Any comments - faces or no faces?

Until next time...
Alison

Wildlife and Conservation Artist
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Maasai Men - Original Acrylic by Wildlife & Conservation Artist Alison Nicholls

Maasai Men             original acrylic on canvas, 11x14", by Alison Nicholls

Even people who know very little about Africa seem know a little about the Maasai, even if its just that the men wear red & purple robes. So, as an artist who likes to avoid cliches in my work, I was more than a little concerned abut how I was going to paint the Maasai. At the moment I'm still in the experimental stage but my previous post (and the next one, coming soon) show you my first 3 pieces. I'm planning some larger works in a less literal style, but I needed to paint these more realistic pieces first, to make sure I knew what I was doing.

I always know my last bush sketching trip was good if I find it easy to get painting on my return to the studio. If the trip really inspired me then the ideas come tumbling out. That's how it was here. I finished 3 paintings in 2 weeks (I wish I were always so productive). This painting was based on 3 pages from my field sketchbook completed during my visit to the African People & Wildlife Fund in Tanzania. The 3 sketches were a 1" square sketch of a man sitting beside a tree at the market, a page of shuka designs, and a more detailed sketch of the back of a man's head. The rest was memory and inspiration. I love it when that happens!

Like the women in the previous piece, these men are involved in a conversation. Personal connections are so important in rural communities that I wanted to put them in my paintings. What are they talking about? Cattle? A village dispute? The rains? Any ideas gratefully received!

Until next time...
Alison

Wildlife and Conservation Artist
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