Kioni ('She Who Sees Beyond' in Swahili) Drawing

I am originally from the UK but I have lived here in SA for 20 years now. I came to South Africa travelling and I fell in love with this country, with its beauty and vibrance, its diversity, its wildlife and its people. I paint portraits and wildlife. I love the bushveld and I have a love for African wildlife so when I can, I use my creativity to support wildlife conservation in my own small way. The portraits I paint are of women. Why? They inspire me. I want to try and convey the inner beauty and strength that all women inherently possess. Their ‘inner Goddess’. I want people to feel the intensity and emotion that I am trying to convey in each piece of artwork – for them to appreciate the beauty but to also experience the soul of each individual creation and to make a lasting connection with it. I try to allow each artwork to tell its own story as it develops and unfolds – often a ‘pre-planned’ idea comes out quite differently to my initial concept. I work mainly with charcoal, adding mixed-media such as paint, pastel, fabric and gold leaf depending on what the particular piece of artwork calls for. ____ SARA SIÂN – BIO Sara was christened Sarah Jane but has adopted Sara Siân (pronounced ‘ Sara Shaan’) - the Welsh version of her name given to her by her Welsh Grandfather. She currently resides in George with her husband Dion, two children, Bethany & Joshua and ‘studio companion’ Marley, their Golden Retriever. For the last few years Sara has been painting full time and has a number of exhibitions and commissions under her belt and has many works hanging in home and offices around the world. Most recently Sara was shortlisted for the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year Competition, 2021.