Welcome to Art Safari’s blog.
I first took my watercolours to Malawi in 1991, where I was artist in residence on a scientific expedition which was following the footsteps of my ancestor and his more famous explorer colleague of 5 years, Dr David Livingstone.
We spent three and a half months in Malawi, I painted and drew constantly, culminating in an exhibition to raise funds for the Wildlife Society of Malawi. We made the second ever botanical survey of the Elephant Marsh – the first had been made by my great great grandfather Sir John Kirk – as well as a complete bird and animal survey, before walking the full length of the River Shire from the Elephant Marsh to Lake Malawi.
During those months I discovered a love of Africa, in particular of Malawi. I also discovered how rewarding it was to paint wildlife from life – a habit that eventually created Art Safari in 1999.