What’s New | Call of Africa's - Native Visions Galleries

Thank you so much for your donation of the Xhosa Lady sculpture. The proceeds will buy about fifteen computers, which forty-five students will use for about ten years. That is a good feeling!

Both of you do so much, I know how many times you get asked to donate. It is hard. Thank you for your support.

The good news is that we (you) have accomplished something. Our project is coming to a sustainable end.

Just think, a project that has a beginning, middle and an end. We raised over $210,000 this year and that is enough to buy all the hardware, now and into the future. It will also provide a small savings to support the staff. I will continue to raise money through smaller venues, but the annual budget will be much smaller.

This is the largest computer-assisted learning school in Africa. We will see what type of leadership evolves. This year, out of 36 students, 36 graduated and 36 went on to college.

You were a part of it.

Thank you for your support,

R. Gaylord Layton
Rwanda Leadership Foundation
Computer Training Center at Sonrise School

Source and inspiration:

In October 2009 I visited the Kalahari Transfrontier Park for five days. One day, around midday, I managed to drive up the back of one of the high sand dunes, and to my delight discovered three male lions lying near the top of the dune. I spent the next five hours in their enthralling company, and they were completely relaxed as I parked to the side and photographed them. It was a particularly hot and soporific day, and the lions were lethargically reclined on the soft sand. Of note, is that there is a parasitic tick called a Tampan tick that lives in the shady sand under the Camelthorn trees in the Kalahari. Because it is so virulent many animals prefer to suffer lying in the sun than risking the attention of the tick, unless there is another variety of tree around.

In the heat of the afternoon a dramatic thunderstorm began to build up in the distance. As it approached, with wild flashes of lightning, the lions began to rouse from their slumber. I have tried to portray the stages of this with the one lion still asleep, the other reclined but with open eyes, and the third sitting, with the tail beginning to flick. As the wind picked up and began to lash big raindrops across the dune, they went on to walk about, stopping to gaze across the valley, enervated by the elemental conditions. I chose to paint the moment leading up to the storm, as it contains the latent drama of the occasion.

Another fact to note is that storms like this are common in the desert region, but they seldom bring much rain. The electrical energy generated is impressive and high areas are often struck by lightning. If one looks at the fallen Camelthorn tree behind the lions, it is noticable that the trunk is charred and burnt. This tree was a victim of lightning, and the bits of wood lying about are from the strike. This gave me the idea for the title, because although "Seat of Power" would seem to refer to the royal authority of the lions, they are, in fact, sitting on the site of a powerful lightning strike.

During my experience there, I had time to see closely the beautiful soft tangles of the tawny and black manes, I saw the piercing contact their eyes make, the musculature of their anatomy and the array of subtle tones in their pelts. I felt something of their playfulness and their unnerving wildness. I saw them respond to the elements, an extension of them.

In my time observing, drawing and taking reference photographs as a wildlife artist, this particular occasion has been one of the most moving, powerful and inspirational. The event cried out to be immortalised in paint!!

Technique and process

The piece had to be big! Selecting my largest canvas, I then decided to create a composition that would be dynamic and strong in keeping with the subject. The composition and drawing took a whole week!! The diagonal line of the dune and the tree gives the painting its energy. The triangular arrangement of the lions gives the composition its strength and leads the eye around the painting. To arrive at the composition I did full size charcoal sketches of a range of poses that I liked. I then cut these images out and arranged them in a whole range of possibilities until I found the composition that worked best.

The piece is created so that the viewer's eye will range continuously around the piece, exploring each part. The attention starts with the top lion, then moves to the reclining lion that is looking at the viewer. We then look at the sleeping lion, after which the eye moves up the shafts of rain, arches across the sky onto the tree and then back to the sitting lion at the top. This has been carefully planned. I have also provided a strong sense of space by using colour and texture in the foreground, and soft atmospheric hues in the far landscape. I have tried to paint the lions and the landscape in as beautiful manner as possible so that looking at the work becomes a feast for the eye. I want the viewer to always find something new in the work.

This painting took two months of really hard work, and I loved every minute of it!

You Should Check Out This Great New Wildlife Art Magazine

We want to tell you about an exciting new online magazine devoted to wildlife art. It's called Wildlife Art Journal and you can find it by going to www.wildlifeartjournal.com on your computer. It's only $12/year if you subscribe now. Wildlife Art Journal is taking the discussion of wildlife art to a whole new level. It is reaching out to the international community of artists and collectors and we believe that a subscription would be well worth your while. Founded by Todd Wilkinson, who has been writing about wildlife and nature art for 25 years, it is loaded with images and stories, including a pair of articles about two Call of Africa Galleries' artists you know: David Langmead and Mopho Gonde. Todd has met many of the artists we carry in Africa and during the coming months you'll also be seeing new stories on Kim Donaldson, Shirley Greene, Peter Gray, and James Stroud. You'll find stories you won't get anywhere else. We're looking forward to collaborating with Wildlife Art Journal in the years to come. Again, you can check out Wildlife Art Journal at www.wildlifeartjournal.com

Leigh Yawkey Woodson Birds In Art

Since 1976, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum has organized Birds in Art annually, seeking to present the very best contemporary artistic interpretations of birds and related subject matter. Two- and three-dimensional artworks in all media other than crafts and photography are eligible for submission. Approximately 100 works are selected by a jury review of digital images.

We are pleased to announce that both David Langmead and Peter Gray were selected for the 2009 Birds In Art, a priviledge many artists strive for but rarely attain. Congratulations to them both.

"Legends Of The Hunt"

by John Seerey-Lester is slated to debut at the annual Safari Club Convention in Reno, NV in January 2010. Collectors can meet John in person at the show, or alternatively Native Visions Galleries are hosting a one-man show and book signing at their galleries in Naples and Ft. Lauderdale on February 18th and 25th respectively.