Indigenous Guardian's Print

Creating art is visual intimacy for me, it's like tasting the world with my eyes. Having spent my childhood growing up in Kenya East Africa, I am in awe of the beauty in nature and the colourful diversity of culture and my aim is to inspire others through my art to appreciate the natural world, and so be motivated to join those campaigning to protect it. I believe that admiration and respect for nature is inherent in each and every one of us, but gets buried under a mountain of consumer-orientated lifestyles. I am mostly self-taught, and the medium of my choice is mostly oils on canvas and copper. Through studying various painting techniques handed down through history, I admire the layered Flemish technique of the old masters as well as the use of shadows and lights in chiaroscuro used to achieve the illusion of a 3D world. When I paint, I always keep this in mind with the power of suggestion of sensuality, serenity and mystery. I lived with the Bedouin in the village of Sayhun adjacent to the caves of Petra, Jordan, riding on my camel each day to paint. Battling with the dust, chatting to passers-by and friends about the meaning of life. Being an artist as well as working in the field as an anthropologist is an on-going process of learning, sharing knowledge and wisdom and growing as an individual. As each layer after layer emerges on the canvas so the journey unfolds in real life. I hope that my audience are inspired and enjoy viewing as much as I have loved to create.