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| Guy Combes is an artist from Kenya, now based in California. His subjects include the wildlife and people of Africa, and beyond.
On average, this newsletter will be updated and released every quarter, and contains information about upcoming events, new work, and scheduled workshops. Thank you for subscribing. |
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| In a change to the usual programming, for the next few weeks I will be posting a number of features about individual paintings, imparting the stories behind them, and deconstructing my artistic process. ‘The Rainmaker’ is one painting in particular that has prompted a great deal of curiosity as to my creative motivation, and I’d like to take this opportunity to reveal as much as I can about it.
One of the greatest privileges of having spent so much of my life in Africa is the associated responsibility of describing my experiences truthfully, and in so doing, to challenge the preconceptions of those who have not had the opportunity to experience this magical environment first hand. When I started focusing primarily on painting East African wildlife and settings, I felt motivated to produce images that celebrated perspectives that an unfamiliar audience would easily understand. However, as I followed this endlessly fascinating creative path, I realised that I wasn’t giving people enough credit for their hunger to see images that tell a deeper story, and I now feel more motivated than ever to combine a richer and more layered understanding of Africa with the poetry and drama of my favourite place on earth.
The red elephants that are ubiquitous to Tsavo have been as familiar to me from childhood as white doves or black sheep would be to anyone in most of the developed world. It therefore came as a surprise to me that this familiarity is almost entirely unique to people who have lived in, or visited this area, and exploring red elephants in a painting became an obsession. |
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| ‘THE RAINMAKER’ – 40 x 24 – Oil on Canvas. |
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| It’s no coincidence that Burnt Sienna is among the most commonly used pigments in African wildlife paintings, either as an underpainting base or combined with other hues. One of the main compounds of Burnt Sienna is iron oxide, which is also one of the primary compounds of the rich volcanic soil of Tsavo and many other geological areas of East Africa. Elephants in these areas, as with any other places they inhabit, adorn themselves with the colour of the soil by continually rolling in mud and dusting themselves with dry dirt, until they become so entirely covered and ‘dyed’, that this appears to be their natural hue. Amboseli and Laikipia elephants appear as different shades of grey from the volcanic ash of the great volcanoes of Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, while the elephants of the Aberdares, Samburu and Tsavo appear red or reddish brown. Although their ancient migratory paths have now been blocked or bisected by humans, they still move great distances, and can dramatically change colour over the course of a year. |
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| Photos from Lumo Conservancy, Tsavo, Kenya. |
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| It seemed too convenient that the main colour I wanted to use for the elephant came straight from a tube, and I quickly realised that it would actually be a great challenge to describe the subtle variations of hue and tone on the complex surface of elephant skin with Burnt Sienna as a primary base. Yellows, violets, blues, and even greens had to be worked in with great care in order to create believable variation and anchor the elephant in the context of the landscape.
The opportunity to get the reference I needed came in early 2014 when I was visiting Tsavo with friends, and some unseasonal storms were passing through as stubborn remnants of the previous rains. Lumo Conservancy, on the South Western end of the Taita Hills, was a riot of bright fresh greens, with every exposed shrub branch occupied either by a Eurasian roller, a fiscal shrike or a red-billed hornbill. Bee-eaters were also in profusion, and all were feasting on an abundance of butterflies, locusts and beetles. The activity was both bewildering and intoxicating, but what I was most struck by was the dramatic contrasts in colour of the bright greens, the crystal clear blue skies washed by the passing storms, and the fiery red of the elephants whose mood very much seemed to reflect their adornment. The boisterousness of young males who were challenging each other and any passing vehicles was tainted by the reminder that this area suffers some of the highest poaching statistics in Kenya, and when an elephant charges it’s not always because he’s full of ‘joie de vivre’. However, in this case I wanted to celebrate the moment in a positive way, and express all the flamboyance of a hot blooded young elephant full of strength and bluster.
The title refers to the Taita Hills range in the background, whose elevation from the hot, humid plains generates the most spectacular afternoon storms at certain times of the year, and provides the fuel for all this energy and life. I lowered the horizon to add height and drama to the elephant and emphasise the impression that is always lost in a straightforward reference photograph. As with all of my work, I drew from a multitude of photos, videos and sketches to arrive at a composition I was happy with, while my primary inspiration, as always, came from my memory of the thrill of the encounter itself.
It’s always a pleasure to have an opportunity to talk about my work and answer any questions about it, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any, and if you are in in the East Bay area in California, you can see the painting in person at Diablo Fine Art Gallery in Walnut Creek. This gallery was founded by a close friend, and provides a long awaited opportunity to show my work to a local audience. The painting is available, and pricing information can be obtained by contacting the gallery here. |
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| Once again, my sincerest thanks for all your support. I’m looking forward to the next big adventure, and hope to see you at some point along the way.
All my very best
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