Category Archives: Wildlife

Leaoprd in Magenta, painting by Alison Nicholls

Very Peri Painting

2002 will be the year of Very Peri paintings (and Very Peri everything else) because Pantone chose Very Peri as it’s 2022 color of the year. 

Pantone’s 2022 Color of the Year – Very Peri

As you can see, I’ve been painting with this, and similar hues for a long time – knowing that the day would come when my paintings would be fashionable!
And now that day has come…
How shall I celebrate?
Perhaps with even more Very Peri paintings!

Leaoprd in Magenta, painting by Alison Nicholls

Leopard in Magenta, acrylic on canvas 20×16″ by Alison Nicholls. Sold

Okavango Palms

Okavango Palms, watercolor 20×16″ by Alison Nicholls. Sold.

Lone Wolf by Alison Nicholls

Lone Wolf by Alison Nicholls

Have a Very Peri 2022!
Alison

www.ArtInspiredbyAfrica.com

Moose watercolors by Alison Nicholls

Moose of Rocky Mountain National Park

The moose of Rocky Mountain National Park provided a wonderful spectacle during my recent visit.

Moose watercolors by Alison Nicholls

Watercolor silhouettes of moose, sketched from life in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, Sept 2021.

One evening we were leaving Sprague Lake, when a sudden commotion ahead of us turned out to be a mother moose and 2 calves rushing towards the water – so we also rushed back to the lake. They had run beside the boardwalk to the far end of the lake (probably giving a few visitors a fright in the process) and we found them in the water, caught in the last light of day.

Moose

Moose in Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colordao. Photos by Alison & Nigel Nicholls.

The 2nd occasion we saw moose was also at Sprague Lake. This time it was a female and calf, and a young male. Soon they were joined by a much larger male and the younger male retreated. They were right at the edge of the water so although the light was fading, I still had perfect silhouettes to sketch. Blue and purple seemed the most appropriate colors for the situation!

Moose watercolors by Alison Nicholls

Watercolor silhouettes of moose bull, created from life, in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, by Alison Nicholls, September 2021.

These were painted directly in watercolor, with no preliminary drawing. I’ve never sketched moose before and was constantly convinced I’d made their faces too long and their chins too pronounced, but gradually I got used to their strange anatomy. Although it was getting darker and my fingers were getting increasingly cold, I kept on sketching because I knew this was an amazing opportunity that I may not see again!

Next time – Rocky Mountain landscapes.
Take care
Alison

www.ArtInspiredbyAfrica.com

Zebra at Waterhole

Inspiration

Inspiration – it’s a funny thing. Normally I would argue that an artist should get into the studio and paint, in order to generate their own inspiration, but recently I’ve found myself avoiding the studio and feeling uninspired and unmotivated. What? Really? Yes!

I don’t enjoy working from photos and haven’t been to Africa since September 2019, so my mental library definitely needs topping up. As I’m writing this I realize I need to follow my own good advice, given some months ago, and start watching African waterhole webcams and live safari links. I also have a lot of my own video, taken in Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Maybe now is the time to watch some of it and turn it into memory-jogging clips I can share with you.  

So here’s one – a waterhole scene from Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana. The snorts and sniffs you hear are impala (mostly out of sight) and you’ll also hear a weird call that sounds a little like a creaky gate but is in fact a grey lourie (go-away bird).

Ah, I feel better already!
Alison

www.ArtInspiredbyAfrica.com