Of Writing & Art

While still a work in progress, an elephant bull done on commission. I used Faber Castell Polychromos oil based coloured pencils and did the painting on 9" x 12" Stonehenge Legion 250 GSM acid free and 100% cotton paper.

Throughout my lengthy career as a game ranger, soldier, and then PH, I never lost my fascination for drawing and painting. As a young Rhodesian game ranger, I often doodled in a notebook as I sat by my campfire while on patrol. Basic stuff, done with a graphite pencil and extremely amateurish. Unfortunately, I have never been taught art, and at high school the stream I was in were considered more suited to woodwork, and metalwork. Neither of which I enjoyed.

As a result, my art journey has been a lengthy sort of stop-start experience, with a lot of experimenting as to which medium best suited my lifestyle. Budget constraints also placed a huge limitation on what medium to use. Living on a game ranger’s meagre salary didn’t exactly allow me to splash out on buying oil paints. Living in dusty tents too, never lent itself to painting in oils. So, for years, I continued to ‘dabble’ with graphite pencils.

A portrait of an African buffalo 'dagha bull' done on 9" x 12" Stonehenge Legion 250GSM paper using Faber Castell Polychromos coloured pencils. Upon completion, this painting was bought by an Australian sport hunter.

It was when we were in the Ciskei of old (a South African independent African Homeland), circa mid-1980s that I finally bought, and then experimented with using dry pastels on Canson paper. At the time I was heading up Ciskei Safaris, and found a number of our clients liked my attempts at wildlife art. A few bought completed paintings. This gave me the confidence to donate artwork to Safari Club International for auction at their annual convention.

In about 1988/89, before our return to Zimbabwe, I donated a framed portrait painting of a Vaal (Grey) Rhebok, and the next year a framed portrait of a Southern Greater Kudu. Both fetched good auction prices which gave me further confidence. In addition, and from 1985 I had been donating from 3-4 framed wildlife pastel paintings to the East Cape Game Management Association, for auction at their annual AGM and convention.

Also a commissioned work, this black rhino portrait was done on 9" x 12" Stonehenge Legion 250GSM paper using Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. Having worked with black rhino in the Zambezi Valley during my Rhodesian game ranger years, as a highly threatened species they hold a special place in my heart.

After our return to Zimbabwe in 1991, I put my artwork on hold, and it was only in about 1994 that I started to once more work in pastels. Unfortunately, and not long after, I developed a horrific allergy to pastel dust and my attempts at continuing to develop my art came to an abrupt halt. For a brief period, I dabbled with student quality watercolours, and oils, but it was an exercise in futility, so I gave up.

Thereafter I never really attempted to paint again aside from a periodic short-lived burst of creativity, which seldom lasted for long. In 2016, after we had emigrated to the UK I once more found myself wanting to paint again. By then too, I had written three non-fiction hunting related books and was still actively writing for a few hunting magazines. There were also other books which at the time were on file as ‘works in progress.’

Another 9" x 12" painting of an ash, dust, and soot covered black rhino after a bush fire. This was also done on 250GSM Stonehenge Legion paper which is 100% cotton and acid free.

My writing and art created a sort of conflict of interest of my own making, and I kept promising myself that after my last, and seventh book, I was going to concentrate on art. All of this was well and good although from an art perspective there was a problem, it being space. On our arrival in the UK in November 2015, we bought a 60’ liveaboard narrowboat, repainted her, and called her Sabi Star. The name comes from my favourite flower, endemic to Zimbabwe’s Sabi Valley where I spent much of my boyhood.

Narrowboats don’t really lend themselves towards what you could term spacious if you want to be an artist. Although, and having said that, you can comfortably do A4 size work. Medium wise I decided from the onset to stay away from oils because of the lengthy drying time, which requires adequate storage space. Fortunately too, during this early stage of my wanting to once more start dallying in art, an ex-Rhodesian BSAP (British South Africa Police) friend contacted me on Face Book. Armand Foster, who is an established artist and author living in the UK gave me some much-needed advice, and he very kindly gifted me a mix of professional artists Winsor & Newton acrylic paints. He also sent me a tin of quality Derwent Aquarelle colour pencils, and a selection of Winsor & Newton water-mixable oil paints.      

My favourite animal is the African buffalo, also called the Cape buffalo. Throughout the years I guided safaris as a PH, and when I was still a game ranger, hunting a buffalo dagha bull by tracking it on foot, epitomised for me the pinnacle of ethical hunting. My admiration for buffalo is also due to their sheer tenacity in the face of danger. Buffalo aren't open to negotiation. If a charge develops you have one option. Kill the buffalo before it kills you, as they can seldom be turned during the charge, although it sometimes happens, and I have experienced that. I did this dagha bull bachelor duo for our middle son, who is a gunmaker. It was done on A3 size Pastelmat using Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. The two buffalo typify their wariness as they slowly move across the dry winter floodplain to water.

Initially, I started painting in acrylics and following Armand’s sage advice, decided whatever medium I ultimately chose to work in, I would ensure they were ‘professional artist’ quality, and not student quality. And then, while scrolling on the Internet and looking at various art podcasts and YouTube tutorials, I came across oil-based coloured pencil art.

As a medium it was a first for me as I had never heard of them. For use in the confines of a boat, coloured pencil art certainly ticked all the boxes, particularly so for storage and workspace. I then decided to invest in a mix of quality Faber Castell Polychromos, Derwent Lightfast & Caran d’ Ache Pablo coloured pencils, all of which are oil-based. I also bought a small selection of Japanese Holbein oil and wax mix-coloured pencils.

Everyone who goes on safari to any of the Southern African countries will be familiar with the iconic warthog, they are the clowns of the plains and great fun to hunt, and watch. This boar was painted on 9" x 12" Stonehenge Legion 250GSM paper. I used Faber Castell Polychromos pencils, and was glad the painting was purchased by an ex Zimbabwe game ranger and safari operator colleague. It now hangs in his Harare home, where it belongs, which makes me happy.

By way of paper, and after a fair amount of research I opted for American manufactured Stonehenge Legion colors paper, and the Italian Fabriano Academia. More recently though I have started using the French produced Clairefontaine Pastelmat which comes in a variety of sizes and colours. Canson Velvet, a relatively new type of paper for pastel and coloured pencil art is also exceptional, albeit pricey. 

In October 2024, and after 9 happy years of living afloat, we sold Sabi Star and moved into a lovely 2-bedroomed cottage. With our move back into ‘bricks & mortar’ came much happiness on the art front. The spare room now serves as an office, and as an art studio. Shortly after our move I once more started using water soluble oils, and found them an excellent medium although the lengthy drying time is still a niggle.

I never tire of drawing or painting African buffalo, and particularly so the old grumpy, arthritic, and worm infested dagha bulls.. To have survived into old age, with broomed off horns and numerous battle scars, makes them worthy of recognition. I've often said if old buffalo bulls were warriors they'd have a chest full of valour medals. I did this 13" x 11" painting in acrylics on canvas, and I was wanting to capture the dry mud on the buffalo's horns and back, from wallowing. His horns are also worn, and his ears torn. A noble old dagha bull. I am happy to say he now hangs in the home of a Swiss sport hunter who shares my love of Africa and its magnificent wildlife.

I also discovered with pastel paper like Clairefontaine Pastelmat and Canson Velvet, dust from pastel pencils is a non-issue. The diverse colour range of pastel pencils in various brands also negates any need for me to use dust generating conventional soft pastel chalk sticks. As a result, I am currently alternating between using pastel pencils, and oil-based coloured pencils. Heavily reliant on my decades of bush life, I now use my memory bank of mental images from times past to help with my artistic creativity.

Most visitors to safari camps in southern Africa witness either red-billed, or yellow-billed hornbills hopping around on the ground between the tents or chalets. They are extremely comical to watch, noisy, and quickly become human habituated. This painting was done on Canson A3 paper, using Faber Castell Pitt pastels and Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils.

Unfortunately, too many people who are anti-hunting seem to think art and hunting don’t mix. All you have to do, is attend a few of the big hunting conventions like the annual Safari Club International Show, and count the artists booths. If ever proof is needed that artists contribute to wildlife conservation the proof is there, and the names of world renown artists who, over the decades, have donated thousands of dollars to worthy wildlife conservation causes are too many to mention. Their contributions certainly amount to a lot more than National Parks gate entry money in Africa. Or the monies collected in collection boxes on shop counters.

A quick oil sketch of two baboons resting on an old tree trunk. I did this painting on Arches 9" x 12" 300GSM oil paper.

For my part, and as a retired African PH now residing in the UK, I’ll just continue to ‘dabble’ in art for recreation purposes, although by the same token I am quite happy to do a bit of commission work, and sell my paintings.