When I sketch giraffes I realize just how strangely they are put together. Whereas circles form the basis of most of my animal sketches, with giraffes there seem to be more triangles involved. Their necks look ridiculously thin from some angles, their knees and feet are huge when seen up close, they have an amazingly long tongue and big males often have faces covered in lumps. Somehow, despite all this, they manage to be one of the most elegant animals in the African bush!
Browsing Giraffe Field Sketch by Alison Nicholls ©2015
All my field sketches, are created in Africa directly from life, or sketched back at camp purely from my memory of sightings. They are completely finished in Africa and I use no photos or video reference at any time in their creation. It is always tempting to add finishing touches back in the studio, but I avoid this to ensure that my field sketches really are field sketches.
This Original Field Sketch was sold yesterday, but Limited Edition Giclées are also available, priced at US$120 each. Only 10 copies are available, printed using archival inks on watercolor paper, 11×14″, all signed and numbered by me.
A donation will be made to African conservation from every sale.
Until Nov 22, I will be sharing 1 of my new African field sketches every day. The new sketches are shown to my newsletter readers a full day before they are shown here. Click here to Join my Mailing List and see the sketches as soon as they are released, or see them here 1 day later.
Wherever and whenever you see them, I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed creating them.
Tomorrow’s sketch is of a zebra in mopane scrub.
Until then…
Alison
www.ArtInspiredbyAfrica.com