Alison Nicholls - Wildlife Artist

I have spent many hours watching & sketching wildlife in the bush. This allows me to create natural & convincing compositions even though my watercolor paintings are produced in the studio, thousands of miles away from Africa. Sketching is vital to my work and I treat it as a life-drawing class where I sketch exactly what I see in front of me in the bush. Painting is a completely different process because I am creating a finished piece of wildlife art and using my imagination in addition to my knowledge of the wildlife.

Usually my paintings are set at dusk or dawn – the times of day when many of the animals are most active. I love the dry season in southern Africa when the dust and heat combine to flatten the landscapes and turn animals into silhouettes. Many of my paintings use the light effects found at this time of year.

Southern Africa is an artist's paradise and although I have traveled extensively all my life, I haven't found anything quite as intoxicating as the African bush. During years of camping trips in Botswana I had several unforgettable wildlife experiences including lions appearing out of the darkness as I sat at the campfire, a herd of several hundred buffalo plodding through camp to the river below and wild dogs chasing impala between our tents. But it's not all about action. In fact the quieter times are what remind me most vividly of Africa - watching Abdim's storks wheeling high on the thermals, listening to barking geckoes in the Kalahari or being woken by francolins at dawn.

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.

As a wildlife artist and a Signature Member of Artists For Conservation I have a keen interest in conservation issues and use my wildlife art to raise funds for conservation groups in the southern African region. In 2007 I was awarded an AFC Fellowship Grant to conduct the 5th AFC Flag Expedition. My expedition, titled "Painting the Painted Dogs - Artistic Study of an Endangered Hunter" involved a 6-week visit to the Painted Dog Conservation project (PDC) just outside Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, where I spent time tracking and sketching African Wild Dogs (known as Painted Dogs in Zimbabwe). On my return I created a traveling exhibition and lecture series, exhibiting sketches from my expedition journal, completed studio paintings and photographs to publicize this highly social and highly endangered species. I continue to donate 25% of sales from all Painted Dog artwork to the PDC project.

I addition to my membership of Artists For Conservation, I am a member of both the Salmagundi Club and Explorers Club in New York City.

My watercolors have been featured in Wildlife Art magazine (US) and Wildscape magazine (UK) and the US Department of State used one of my paintings as the backdrop for information promoting the "Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking" initiative.

I exhibit my work at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, South Carolina, and my paintings have been shown at the Botswana Mission to the United Nations in Manhattan.

I frequently give lectures aimed at showcasing southern Africa and its wildlife. Apart from the fact that I never tire of talking about Africa, these lectures allow me to show some of the amazing places and stunning wildlife of the region.

In my lectures I discuss conservation issues, sketching in the bush, local rock art, traveling conditions and explain what it is like to camp in remote places. I have lectures for numerous organizations including the Explorers Club, volunteers at the Bronx Zoo and Central Park Zoos, schools and private organizations.

I write monthly email newsletters containing details of my wildlife art, photos, exhibition details and stories from my sketching trips. To receive your copy please click on the link below.

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I hope I have explained a little about my wildlife art and my motivation to paint. It is both the activity and the tranquillity of the African bush that I aim to portray in my paintings. I hope that through my artwork you will see some of what I have seen. If you do, you`ll know why I am an African wildlife artist.

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