Art Safari Holiday Photos 

Liwonde National Park, Lake Malawi and Dzalanyama Forest Reserve in Malawi 

and South Luangwa Valley National Park in Zambia

to enter main site click Art Safari 

to return to site click home

Sheltering under the shade of the palm, we paint the flood plain beneath Chinguni Hill, Liwonde National Park

Arrival at Mvuu Camp, Liwonde National Park, Malawi.

Painting as dawn hits the palms, 5.30am.

Group photo, colonial style.

Elephants munch at the water's edge.

"It's a privilege to be out here with other artists, great company, really useful tips on how to go about the drawings and paintings, and we're learning so much from each other."

"I love your elephant."

While on the boat safari with a Wilderness guide called Angel we could see our Land Cruiser on the riverbank - Godfrey, our guide for the fortnight, had, instead of resting, taken himself off to draw hippos on his own.

Capturing moving animals can be extremely tricky, especially when the boat moves too.

From the safety and height of Hans' Hide just below Mvuu, we could spend hours painting on several different occasions in different lights.  From here we could see elephants, waterbuck, impala, warthog, reedbuck, crocodiles and all manner of birds to get excited about.  Especially luxurious below was the view from the loo.

Hans's Hide is built in a huge Sausage tree, which was in blossom: blood red flowers hung around us.

"When you're sitting out there looking at it all and painting, you get a real sense of the animal kingdom.  I love hearing all the sounds."

"I've entered Alice's Wonderland."

"How do you paint that?!"

"I love drawing the hippos best, they're so round, with great bottoms, but they're quite frightening creatures really."

Concentrating on distance, tree studies in the mopane forest.

Rapid sketches to capture movement, weight and atmosphere.

Malachite kingfisher, one of the many kingfishers of Malawi.

As the sun got higher, so the artists disappeared into the depths of the palm fronds.

Palms in the flood plains, dragon flies swirling, cicadas trilling.

Tools at the ready!

As Godfrey said, at 9am we will see the elephants.

Studying the yellow fever tree.

"It's a luxury to be able to say, 'this is one of my favourite spots'."

"When you're drawing, you really do have to look properly.  I find it totally exhausting, and so exhilarating."

"This is such a magical place.  I didn't know what to expect from Malawi, it's got a timelessness about it.  It's wonderful to have so much time in one place.  We feel as if we're part of it."

To go into  the main site please click here Home

Look at that hippo drawing!

The peacefulness of painting at dawn, when the animal world is at its loudest, but the world seems so still.  Colours and patterns.

The changing colours of evening.

Hippos grunt contentedly and continuously.

Oh, I wish I was a painter.

Entering a world of new expression.

Trumpeter Hornbill.

to enter main site click Art Safari 

to return to site click home

Yellow billed stork

Another glorious evening on the Shire River.

"I'm sorry I didn't bring my art work to show you all this evening; when I went back to my chalet there was a hippo on the path."  

"His name is Horace."

A quiet moment for the group amongst the mopane trees in Liwonde National Park.

Drawing exercise - looking north, south, east and west.

"We're getting to learn so much about the plants and about the animals.  There are so many stories attached to things - like Just So stories.  Did you hear Mr Dzimba tell us about why the Baobab Tree looks like it's upside down... or the one about the water buck?"

On the road again, as we drive back through the park and on up towards Lake Malawi, passing hundreds of people going about their daily lives.  A fascinating contrast to the wilderness of Liwonde National Park.

Mua Mission cultural museum, an invaluable introduction to the cultures and traditions of the tribes and religions of Malawi.  We spent several hours here on our first day, also visiting the renowned Mua carvers and the Kungoni Arts Centre.

Father Claude Boucher advises some of the Mua carvers.

Small loosely thatched mud huts and wicker grain stores are in every village, and are gradually being replaced by brick and tin dwellings more resilient to the annual rains.

In the evening light fishermen paddle their dugout canoes.

It's magical to watch the Lake at sunset and at sunrise, all the while you drink in new colours.

to enter main site click Art Safari 

to return to site click home

<photo to follow>

Senga bay - painting at the nearby fishing village, and joined by inquisitive children who joined our art class.  

One evening we went to the Wheel House, a round bar in the Lake for our daily MGTs (Malawi Gin and Tonic).

Lake Malawi's cyclids, brightly coloured freshwater fish are unique to the Lake and collected by enthusiasts all over the world.  Stuart Grant's Cyclid Centre in Senga Bay has holding tanks for these brightest of creatures.  A boat ride out to a nearby island gave us the opportunity to swim amongst them, snorkeling.

Grasses at Dzalanyama Forest Reserve. 

"It's such a restful place."

Brachystegia clings on to the slopes. Swimming in the river after our morning painting session.

A tranquil forest inhabited by paradise flycatchers and a hoard of small children, with whom we played football.  That evening the local music teacher came with his guitar and we sang and danced in an unforgettable birthday celebration.

"Mukapita, mwera bereso, uh, uh, ha, mwera bereso, ee-ai, ee-ai, Mukapita"

were these the words Godfrey?

photos to follow

Football match at Dzalanyama Forest Reserve school

Art Safari takes to the banks of the Luangwa River to paint the hippos and the crocodiles in the changing colours of sunset

Out with the paint box!

Carmine bee eater

"Unbelievable - I've seen 124 new bird species, that I've positively identified myself, and Godfrey has seen 140! -  this is amazing considering I thought I'd be painting all the time, but I've had so much opportunity to enjoy the birdlife here in Liwonde as well.  Having such a good guide is an unexpected bonus."

A majestic sight of over 800 buffalo coming down in rotation from the banks to drink from the Luangwa River

"It's much more like the Africa I was expecting, much drier, hotter, bigger somehow and with the great wide, brown, winding Luangwa River."

Elephants come down to the riverbed to spray sand

"So many elephants!"

Reaching for a small one from the Sausage Tree.

"...just how long is it's neck?!"

Trees glitter red and blue with over 1000 carmine bee eaters.

A welcome stop in the shade to paint one of the many dry riverbeds, shortly to be visited by a curious small warthog

Sketching the Luangwa River in a moment of still timelessness

Elephant and Sacred Ibis greet each other.

Watching the acrobatics of the tallest animals at a waterhole.

"It was a long drive to get here, but really worth it, I thought we'd seen so much in Liwonde, but this is something else."   

Godfrey Showa, our guide, taking a rest from story telling, joking and laughing.

Trees rise out of the dusty plain, impala leap through the dead branches torn down by elephants.

Pelicans on the shoreline.

to enter main site click Art Safari 

to return to site click home

Intrepid artist in the bush.

Three very muddy elephants take a drink.

Carmine bee eaters were one of the many unexpected wonders of Luangwa  - newly arrived on migration from Botswana

Lions laze in the evening light

Warthog, often seen with a stream of youngsters running tails up behind them

Mixing drawing and photography

We visited the colourful Luangwa textiles workshop on our way back out of Zambia.

Shopping opportunities abound.  All sorts of things found their way back to the UK; not only carvings and textiles!

"This holiday really has exceeded all my expectations."

"I've got a lot paintings to work on in the next months."

"I produced a lot work that's not in my usual style, it got me thinking.  There was so much to take in all the time, I've got a lot of sketches and I'll certainly be working on them and on all those mental impressions for a very long while."

Godfrey, Cathy and I took everybody to the airport for their British Airways flight, and went back to pack my own belongings for the Kenya Airways flight back to the UK one week later.

to enter main site click Art Safari 

to return to site click home

Lastly a message from Mary-Anne: -

Mary-Anne Bartlett, Art Safari, Oct 2003