Although the experience of sketching in the bush is invaluable I have always treated field sketching and studio painting as two very different techniques and as a result my field sketches rarely form the basis of paintings completed in the studio. In my studio paintings (seen here) I exclude unnecessary detail and often have no identifiable background or landscape. I prefer this more impressionistic approach and find it easier to create my wildlife art this way when I am in the studio, away from the detail and activity of the bush. However, traveling to Africa is essential as it allows me to replenish my mental 'library` of images, colors, smells, sounds and sensations, all of which are an integral part of my finished paintings.
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