| A recap of Fall 2015, current projects and workshop announcements. If required to by your email browser, please select ‘Display Images’ to view this newsletter. |
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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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| Dear Wolfgang
After an astonishingly fast paced and intense volume of work activity since early September, I finally find myself catching my breath in England, looking out over the Severn Valley towards the Cotswolds from a temporary studio in my Mum’s sun room.
The 4500 mile September road tour began with camping at Crater Lake, Oregon on my way to Vancouver for the Artists for Conservation Festival. As I was passing through Seattle I met my great friend and fellow artist, Karen L. Rowe, this year’s recipient of AFC’s Simon Combes Conservation Award, who I’d managed to persuade to continue onwards with me to Wyoming, for the Fall Arts Festival in Jackson Hole. En route, we lodged with another fellow artist, Lyn St. Clair, in her remarkable home – an old converted schoolhouse nestled in a valley below some of the most spectacular, wild Montana landscape. Lyn, I have discovered, is one of those rare folks who, if they ask you to get up at 5am because they can take you to see a bear, YOU GO. No questions asked. Following her through Yellowstone, Karen and I both had our first good sighting of a wild grizzly, and a few days later Lyn led me (at 5am) to a secluded place where we spent half an hour alone with a grizzly sow and two cubs – superb subjects for my growing number of future North American wildlife projects.
Before Jackson, Karen and I briefly passed through Dubois, where I was privileged to be able to introduce her to some of her artist heroes, including Mort Solberg and Robert Bateman at the Susan Kathleen Black workshop seminar. Once again, it was a true pleasure to be able to help the organisation with a ‘quick draw’ cheetah for the auction. We also marveled at the staggering show room/arts center John Banovich has created in Paradise Valley and visited with the folks at Creighton Block Gallery in Big Sky. The stars aligned in Jackson Hole, and I had superb results at both the Wild 100 Auction at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and my first go at the prestigious Jackson Hole Fine Art Auction. The scale and organisation of both were jaw dropping, and against some advice of others more seasoned to this experience, who warned me that it can be somewhat nerve-wracking, I decided to watch my lot come up at the auction. I hope to participate again, and although I was very pleased with the result, I may heed their advice next time!
Karen and I parted ways in Salt Lake City and I indulged myself camping in majestic solitude at Dead Horse Point in Southern Utah; a stunning way to conclude that round of ‘business’. Vegas and Yosemite were on the way home so it seemed churlish not to enjoy them too. |
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| Back in the Bay Area, I had a fairly rapid turnaround before hitting the road again south to Kings Canyon to give a workshop at Project Survival’s Cat Haven. This was my first workshop at this location, which for me has always felt like a home away from home. Keep scrolling down for an announcement about the next one! Later, in San Francisco, where the great and the good had gathered for the annual Wildlife Conservation Network Convention, I was asked to do a live demo cheetah painting to raise funds for Action for Cheetahs in Kenya. I have consistently found that this is the best way to not only discipline myself to produce something of visual value in a short period, but also to effectively raise funds without sacrificing too much studio time.
Last, but by no means least, Andrew and I ferried his entire Modern Wild show from the Lindsay Wildlife Experience in the East Bay to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. Again, we were in the hands of an incredible group of people at the Art Institute, who allowed me the privilege of co-presenting with Andrew at the opening of the show, as well as inviting me to show some of my work at the Ironwood Gallery. In addition, Andrew and I both gave three day workshops to a brand new and enthusiastic group of participants. Each time I teach classes, I come away with so much more than just the reward of being able to introduce students to new creative tools. Relationships were forged over those few days that have tremendously exciting implications for the future, not least of which is the fact that Tucson is now a very strong contender as a place to set up studio on a permanent basis! |
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| And the end of the road is still a long way off. Here in England I will be working on new projects in my temporary studio, and heading to Dorset this week for a live demo in The Gallery at Sculpture by the Lakes on Saturday November 28th. I have two drawings available in the show: |
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| ‘DRAWN’ at Sculpture by the Lakes |
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| ‘The Patriarch’ – Graphite and Nero on Board |
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| ‘Circadian Rhythms’ – Graphite and Nero on Board |
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| Many of you have followed my progress with this seven foot canvas on social media. It’s a huge project and I’m relishing every minute. Unfortunately, because of all the travel, there have and will be gaps in progress and it’s been challenging to maintain momentum, but I’m looking forward to recharging my creative batteries soon in Kenya, where I will be close to the location where I found the first inspiration. I will be back in the studio in February to continue work in earnest and post further updates. For now, click the image for a link to a video I posted on Facebook which went viral with over 75,000 views and nearly 2000 shares. Please feel free to share this Youtube video too! |
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| Last year Daniel Sprick was showing at the Denver Museum of Art and I was fortunate enough to go during the Society of Animal Artists Annual Expo at the Wildlife experience in Parker, CO.. The center image (below) is one of the portraits from his show, and I was intrigued by his use of colour, the way his backgrounds amp the subject and his working of edges, and I resolved to experiment with this at some point. The hornbill on the left is one I did back in 2012, and the one on the right is the same hornbill in a different position (I have some excellent reference of one feasting on bluebottles from a pile of buffalo dung), which I intend to attempt to treat in the same way. So far, the underpainting is done, the background needs more layering, and I’m hoping this will have some interesting effects on how the rendered colours of the hornbill will read. I look forward to posting when it’s finished! |
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| Following the resounding success of my first workshop at Project Survival’s Cat Haven near Kings Canyon, California, where participants had spectacular and unique opportunities to study live endangered cats from around the world, I’m very excited to announce dates for the next one. April 4th – 8th is on the calendar! Please contact me if you are interested in participating. At this stage I am not guaranteeing places, but I will take first come first serve, and further details will follow. |
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| In the not-too-distant future I will be back in Kenya (already halfway there), after being away for more than a year. As always I go with an open mind and a plan to include something new. This time, as well as visiting all the usual haunts, I will briefly be in Samburu for the first time since I was a child. And if someone can show me the way to some wild dogs, they will be rewarded generously!
Many thanks, and I wish you all my very best for Christmas and the New Year, |
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| Guy Combes |
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