"I
hope my art help to bring attention to the beauty of
African wildlife, but also makes people aware of how
precious it is, and that we all do our part in
preserving it"
- Simon Combes
1940 -
2004
Simon Combes was
born in Shaftesbury, England, in 1940 and, at the age of six, moved with his
family to an 800-acre farm in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. At the age of 18,
he took a job in western Kenya, managing a 2,000-acre farm with about 150
employees. The following year he was drafted, serving in the Kenya
regiment. He then applied for and received a commission in the King’s
African Rifles.
more
Apair of eastern black rhinos
make their way across the floor Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater in the
late-afternoon African sun. Weighing in at one- to one-and-a-half tons
and over 60” tall at the shoulder, this ill-tempered prehistoric
throwback roams the savanna at will. Black rhino have a tendency to be
less social than their cousins, the white rhino, but a mother and calf
do remain quite bonded for up to four years. At one time, over 30
species of rhinos could be found around the planet. Now there are only
five. Two species, the black and the white, are found in East Africa.
Both African species have two horns. A rhino’s poor eyesight is
augmented by a strong sense of smell and good hearing (and the
above-mentioned bad attitude). Left unharmed by man, a rhino can live 30
to 40 years in the wild. Simon loved rhinoceroses, but painted
surprisingly few. The Survivors was a personal favorite of his.
Years ago, Simon Combes wrote in his diary:
“‘Africa’s Elephants in Danger of Extinction!’ I was
stunned by the cataclysmic headlines in 1989. With
the elephants’ plight uppermost in my mind, I
decided to paint as large a canvas as my small
studio would accommodate. Visually, the painting
would ask the question,' Where are the elephants
going?’ There must be uncertainty and bleakness to
symbolize the imminent tragedy. “The line of
elephants winds its way over the ridge, perhaps
traveling from a lush valley into a dry,
inhospitable environment epitomized by a tree’s
skeleton and sparse tufts of sun- bleached grass
struggling for survival in the infertile ground.
''A young
lion leads his family from a muted, shadowy landscape onto the sunny
plain. As the lionesses catch up, he stands at attention and scans the
horizon for signs of trouble. "
"Cheetahs are
enigmatic and perhaps the most intriguing of all the big cats to me," says
artist Simon Combes of the subject of First Light. "My encounters with
cheetahs have been like meeting a person who has poise, elegance, class,
fleeting moments of warmth and yet tantalizingly aloof. The challenge of
painting cheetahs is two-fold: firstly, the chest is so pronounced in
comparison to the head that in certain positions the animal can look
positively grotesque. Secondly, I am often stumped at portraying the cat's
mood … what is it thinking behind that mask of haughty distain? So serious,
so intent, so reserved, does this animal ever relax and have fun?
This painting was as much an indulgence in design as it was an attempt to
capture that magical, early-morning, golden mistiness surrounding the
surreal silhouettes of distant arcadia trees. I loved the elegant, s-shaped
line from the cheetah's nose to the tip of its tail."
''The Uaso Nyiro
River flows through this area until its dwindling waters disappear
altogether in the shifting hot sands. As the dry season drops the river
level even lower, sand spits divide the shallow flow of water. The newly
reticulated landscape mirrors the giraffes’ unique coats and protective
markings radiating the incomparable sense of being that is Africa."
'' The painting is
set in the vast wilderness of eastern Kenya's Tsavo wilderness, home to
great herds of elephants, buffalo and other animals, yet inhospitable to
man. Water is scarce so the Voi River's occasional pools, surrounded by lush
vegetation, are magnets to a host of animals and birds…and the intermittent
herd of elephants. "
In
An African Experience, Simon’s focus is on the pride of the Serengeti.
“Little outcrops of rock stand out like islands in the grassy sea of the
Serengeti,” Simon said.“Formed millions of years ago during the cataclysmic
upheavals and volcanic eruptions of Africa's birth, these rock groups form
fantastic shapes. For Serengeti lions, rock garden oases are more than
watering holes. They provide lairs where cubs can be born, and havens to
escape the heat of the day. They are also vantage points from which lions
can watch the parade of life go by.”
' Rising over 19,000
feet above the acacia studded plains of East Africa, the magnificent
Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point on the African continent. Often
shrouded in mist, Kilimanjaro is a symbol of Africa itself, dramatically
dwarfing its surroundings – including the stately elephant, largest of
all land animals.''
“Crossing this river is the single most dangerous undertaking in a
wildebeest’s turbulent year,” Combes explains. “In August, when the
Serengeti shimmers with heat, the vast herds of wildebeest are desperate to
reach the fertile grazing lands of southern Kenya. When the enormous hordes
reach the crocodile-infested Mara River, tragedy can strike as some drown in
crossing. Nothing can stop the animals in mid-crossing from trampling,
jostling and panicking in their efforts to reach the safety of the far bank.
This is not always the case, as in The Crossing, which shows its herd making
a comparatively smooth passage.
"I found a lion and
lioness were having a passionate affair, when, suddenly, there was a mighty
roar from an impatient call of a suitor-in-waiting only yards away. The
result was Afterglow (a Greenwich Workshop release ). Returning to the park
earlier this year, I found the same pride with the big black-maned lion and
his harem. The lioness from Afterglow was patiently enduring the boisterous
attentions of two cubs. Again, a compelling subject to paint and an even
more compelling title: Aftermath."
“Painting the bears
of Alaska offered me a new challenge—if I could get there,” says Simon.
“Finally, my name was pulled in a lottery which allowed me to visit the
McNeil River sanctuary to observe bears fishing on sockeye salmon. I spent
five incredible days there and probably saw seventy different brown bears.
They were all around us; some as close as five feet. Absolute Alaska is a
sort of composite image of my observations at both the McNeil and the
smaller Mikvik rivers in the sanctuary.”
“Cheetahs don‘t
normally hunt in the middle of the day due to the intense heat. This pair is
probably having a mental battle over whether to remain in the cool shade or
sprint across the searing plains, but the sighting of prey is surely a great
temptation....”
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