“ The Wild “
There is something about Africa that captures us – for me it’s the harsh beauty and reality of it all, there is a special energy that exists here, it’s tough and wild, like it should be.
Growing up on a farm in Zimbabwe had its benefits, my Father was a PH in the early days in Tanganyika, so we grew up amongst the animals and were enthralled by the tales of Africa, the legends, the myths and above all that special energy that Africa invokes in us.
My Uncle was a well-known Artist, Author and Illustrator in the 60’s and early 70’s – Charles T. Astley Maberly. He wrote books such as Animals of East Africa, Animals of Southern Rhodesia, illustrating books, such as, T.V. Bulpin’s - The Ivory Trail and Memories Of a Game Ranger by Harry Wolhutter. His ability to bring some lines of ink on paper, to life always fascinated me, and perhaps moulded my future, my brother is well-known sculptor James Maberly , based in Suffolk ,England, known for his magnificent Bronzes of animals .
Since leaving College in Australia in 1986, I have been based in Zimbabwe, and have spent many hours in areas such as the Zambezi Valley, Kariba and Hwange, being the most at home, in the wild places that we are so privileged to have been a part of.
Art has been truly rewarding for me, giving me perspective and in fact life is very like a painting. In a painting we form an end result in our mind, we may even sketch it, but how we get there with the brushstrokes, the blends of colour, the textures and the directions of the strokes, are what forms our ultimate piece.
So too, does everything we do in life, the way we behave, what we say, the way we make people feel, like the blends of colour, and strokes of different sizes of brush, we become what we are perhaps the artists of our own lives!
My passion for Elephants amongst other species goes back as far as I can remember, perhaps from the stories of old tuskers on the slopes of Kilimanjaro and the Selous. Their intelligence as a species and the deep sense of knowing they portray has led me to often refer to them as “old souls“.
My love for these creatures is what started me sketching and then painting, and yet it’s the incredible symbiosis that is nature, that has been my inspiration – that feeling of intelligent energy that overwhelms me in the presence of this magnificence.
Behind each painting there is a life, a story about that special connection, the heightening of the senses and the realization that we are undeniably a part of a higher more organised order
“……..the aroma of Africa, an exotic blend of damp earth, dung, dust and heat quintessential to the Valley, a sensation unchanged for centuries fitted comfortably with me as I watched majestic Elephants absorbing each other’s energy, quietly listening and understanding, caressing each other with their trunks, displaying trust and integrity with one another and with a higher purpose, life.
For them and other animals, the spring is life, it’s the source and perhaps their journey to this point has been long and dusty, but their trust in this place has been there for generations, passed on from those before them. Their belief in it is so powerful there is no place for doubt!
In the almost sensual tranquillity of the evening, there is a sense of being in a void, of being timeless where contemplation is pure, a time for a clearer thought process and an understanding that life is about integrity and giving! Nature tends to invoke a deeper purer thought process within us, and as we watch and listen, the stories and legends of Africa swirl through our minds like camp fire smoke, twisting and turning images of life, our lives, and what makes us who we are.
Witnessing this has made me think of how we all fit, do we trust in a higher purpose?
Life is about relationships and love and we have been too lost in the world of today, seldom do we access that place within us, the place where we get perspective and where we even understand the existence of a higher being, of spirit, of God or whatever you choose to call him!”
I found that whilst I loved sketching, oils became my medium of choice as I am able to more accurately represent the deep colours of Africa. Oil paint can have a unique texture that allows the artist to push the boundaries of the norm and there are always new ideas and techniques. As a medium I find it open ended and that’s why I use them, especially on large Canvases and there is nothing more impacting than a large Canvas of Africa!
Soon if we ignore the plight of Africa it will exist no longer. The rate of organised poaching is accelerating. Unbelievably, there will be no Elephants to speak of soon! Each one of us can impact on the future of the wild areas of Africa
The drums are beating, and it’s time to listen.
Will Maberly
For the animal shall not be measured by man
In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained and living by voices we shall never hear.
They are not brethren, they are not underlings.
- Henry Beston -
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