Collected Moments of Survival

My apologies for the "grey" background - its actually white but computers often make decisions of their own. There has to be a story. If there isn’t then, to me, its just a mindless little sketch that anyone could come up with.   One of the exciting things about travel is that there is a story to tell and my travels have taken me far and wide around the continent of Africa. And it’s there that I get my stories. You may have heard along the grapevine that I have managed, somehow, to get one of my artworks into the finals of The David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024 #dsway. For those of you who haven’t heard of this event, it takes place every year and has been dubbed the Oscars of the Wildlife Art World! High praise indeed for an event that not only raises the game for artists but also puts Wildlife Conservation front and centre. The exhibition is at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London and this year, my artwork It’s Mine will hang on the walls. I thought, theref...

A Rüppels Griffon vulture coming in to land. A Lappet-Faced Vulture up close. Sometimes, one writes something and uses references from personal experience only to find out later that perhaps what you said isn’t quite accurate. And so it was pointed out to me that the information I had been given about Africa’s vultures was not quite correct.  This set me off on a research binge and then I discovered that the correction to my information was not quite correct either, or should I say, it could not be set in stone as the only behaviour of certain vultures. I will explain. The incorrect information I was given is that the Hooded Vulture is the vulture first on the scene at a kill/carcass and that they will open up the carcass if there is no predator already doing the job. The correction I was given is that it is the Lappet Faced Vulture, with its strong beak will be first on the scene and will open up the carcass. However, there is a danger in generalizations and of course, I think...

THE MARSH BABIES The Marsh Babies - a little glimpse of what Africa is all about. If you visit the Maasai Mara then you will more than likely hear the name Marsh Pride whispered with great reverence. A pride of lions whose tenacity and fierceness has earned them a place in the history books. Not too long ago two females, Siena and Charm whose story was told over and over again roamed the plains of the North. Charm was the matriarch of the pride and she was the fiercest of all. In her time that she was with us she led her pride with courage and determination. Our arrival in the Mara, coincided with the birth a few months before of 4 cubs who were Siena’s cubs. At the time I wasn’t really aware of the names of the lionesses as I tend to want to shy away from the practice we have of naming these wild animals who, I feel, deserve to live wild and free and naming them somehow, seems to reign in that freedom. As a result of this I don’t want to know the names of the prides or ...

Lion Cubs waiting for their mother to return from hunting.  When you've acquired a taste for dust, The scent of our first rain, You're hooked for life on Africa And you'll not be right again Till you can watch the setting moon And hear the jackals bark And know that they're around you, Waiting in the dark. When you long to see the elephants. Or hear the coucal's song, When the moonrise sets your blood on fire, You've been away too long Its time to cut the traces loose And let your heart go free Beyond that far horizon, Where your spirit yearns to be. Africa is waiting - come! Since you've touched the open sky And learned to love the rustling grass, The wild fish-eagles cry. You'll always hunger for the bush, For the lion's rasping roar, To camp at last beneath the stars And to be at peace once more. C. Emily Dibb Original art available. Marsh Babies Size  79cm x 156cm Beautifully framed in a white wood frame Can ...