Botswana and Zimbabwe were my home for a number of years and although I have traveled extensively throughout my life, Africa inspires my art in ways unmatched by any other place.
Sketching outdoors requires confidence and speed. Decisions about line, composition and color must be made quickly, as the person or animal I am sketching may move away at any time. Traveling with a sketchbook allows me to meet fascinating people, understand wildlife anatomy and behavior, and is invaluable in improving my artistic skills. I work in pencil, pen and watercolor.
My studio paintings consist of multiple layers of transparent color which I use to both obscure and reveal the subject of each piece. Building up layers allows me to create effects of light, dust and heat, but I often use color to convey a mood or a time of day, not to mimic the colors of nature. I eliminate unnecessary detail from my compositions and often use a limited palette of colors to create a tranquil atmosphere, in which people and animals go about their daily lives, undisturbed and unaware of the viewer. Areas of ‘quiet space’ have become prominent in my work, although this was not a conscious decision, but developed gradually as I spent time under the huge skies of the Kalahari and Namib Deserts. These quiet spaces balance the areas of detail in my paintings and leave room for interpretation and imagination. My studio paintings are watercolors on paper or fluid acrylics on watercolor canvas.
My interest in Conservation runs deep, and I make a donation to African conservation organizations from every sale of my work. I include complex issues such as human-wildlife conflict my paintings, which gives my art layers of meaning as well as layers of color. I’m a member of the International Advisory Council for African People & Wildlife (APW) in Tanzania, a community conservation organization which protects wildlife, invests in people, and restores balance to Africa’s vital ecosystems (read more here: Drawing upon Community). I have also collaborated with Painted Dog Conservation in Zimbabwe (read more here: Painting the Painted Dogs) as a result of receiving a grant from Artists For Conservation.
I am a Signature member of Artists For Conservation and the Society of Animal Artists, and a member of The Explorers Club. My art has been widely exhibited, including at the Botswana Mission to the United Nations in Manhattan, and the US Department of State used my art to promote the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking initiative. I lead Art Safaris in South Africa for Africa Geographic and frequently lecture about art, Africa, wildlife and conservation. In 2019 I was honored to be asked to join African People & Wildlife’s International Advisory Council. I am English by birth but live in Port Chester, New York with my husband, Nigel and my German Shepherd dog, Sasha.
Image details, from top, left to right:
Sketching in Botswana; Zebra Drinking field sketch; Sketching among the Maasai photo © African People & Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata; studio materials; early stages of a zebra painting; working in my studio; at Painted Dog Conservation in Zimbabwe; sketching among the Maasai © African People & Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata; with Joyce and Everest of the African People & Wildlife Fund; © African People & Wildlife Fund/Deirdre Leowinata; leading a seminar at The Explorers Club; Wildlife Art Magazine feature; receiving an award at the Artists For Conservation annual exhibition.