Painting Watamu: Finding Inspiration in Paradise
- 03 May 2015
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Karen was born and raised in East Africa. Her family lived a nomadic existence spending much of their time in some of East Africa's most beautiful and unspoiled landscapes – teaming with wildlife and dramatic scenery. She says "The beauty of Africa is ingrained in my blood – I love its untamed and often harsh beauty – its unpredictability. Africa is changing so fast – we are losing so much, I feel compelled to get it down – now – before it is lost forever." She has devoted her artistic career to wild Africa and in 2012, Karen won the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year Awards held at the Mall Galleries in London. She was winner of the Endangered Species category and voted overall winner of this prestigious annual event.
I love too, the mystery of Gedi Ruins quietly surprising you as they emerge from the abundant wet season foliage. Come the dry season when the trees and plants thin out, the ruins seem to claim their place in history as they stand whispering their secrets. I'm not an architectural painter, but these ruins never cease to fascinate and inspire me.
The Arabuko Sokoke forest, thick with its butterflies and creatures great and small, is still a place not fully explored for me. But tales of elephants that quietly loom in and out of the trees is another treasure to offer, and an exciting gift for the future... I often imagine what it must have been like early last century - elephants on the beaches... no longer seen, but a vision that needs to be painted!"If you are an artist or just appreciate the beauty of coastal nature, come and Visit Watamu on your own journey of inspiration.
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