Original Story Published by: Travel Africa
Artwork by: Alison Nicholls
With her art embracing Africa’s mystique, Alison Nicholls sparks the imagination by showing the continent’s famous animals in a new light.
You’ve recently come back from a trip to Africa – can you tell us about the experience?
My latest trip included time in Botswana and South Africa. I spent a week at Limpopo-Lipadi, on the Limpopo River in the Tuli Block, Botswana; a week self-driving in Kruger National Park; four nights in Umlani Bushcamp in the Timbavati; and four nights leading an art safari at Africa on Foot in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve. The entire trip was great fun and involved a lot of sketching and many amazing sightings. I watched a large pack of wild dogs with energetic pups, some of which decided to run under our vehicle. I sketched a spotted hyena feeding on a zebra carcass and saw a throng of vultures descend in a feeding frenzy as soon as the hyena walked away. One night, a stunning orange moon rose over the Letaba River, accompanied by a deafening symphony of hippo and frogs.
Why do you sketch from life?
It is a great way to learn about wildlife – you understand the anatomy of a species, the way it moves, what it eats and how it behaves. You have to look very carefully at an animal in order to sketch it, noticing things that would otherwise escape you, and you come home with a sketchbook full of highly personal memories. Sketching in the bush is a vital part of my artistic process.
