A SOLO nature-inspired art exhibition is due to open in April providing art enthusiasts with a glimpse of life on an African safari.
Louise Luton, who spends much of her time in Fordingbridge and the New Forest, is a well-known wildlife artist and the exhibition reveals the beauty and vibrancy of the colours and animals of Africa’s Masai Mara.
Read more: Salisbury Hospice Charity's annual Celebration Walk is back
Louise gave up her teaching job in 2014 to become an artist focussing on landscape paintings but realised she was naturally starting to add more animals into the artwork.
Louise said: “Before my father died, he suggested I paint lions, but I told him I couldn’t do that. My focus was on animals here.”
After he passed away, Louise found herself doing just that.
Read more: When new real-time bus displays go live
Louise said: “We went to the Offbeat Mara, and it was wonderful. We saw the Marsh Pride which has been shown in the Big Cat Diary.”
One experience, in particular, resonated with her. The group were sitting in the jeep, and a male lion came over and sprayed over the rear wheel.
She said: “The lion was huge. After he walked away, we drove on and moved past another pride of lions, but the pride started to react to the scent on the jeep. One juvenile male went under the jeep and two mature females began sniffing the air close by.
Louise admitted: “It was a really scary moment.”
See more: Have you listened to Salisbury Journal's new podcast?
Louise found the landscape inspiring, and in some ways, she was reminded of the fields of gold around Wiltshire, but this time, there was a herd of elephants with a young calf.
Louise said: “It reminded me of a periscope with its trunk coming up to forage. That’s all we could see.”
When the elephants began to move, they chose to walk directly past the jeep.
See more: The Salisbury Journal is on TikTok for bite-sized news
Louise said: “It is these moments that make you feel a part of it. We were completely silent as they walked past and the feel of them as they wandered by, was amazing, and the breeze as they flapped their large ears, it’s considerable.
“The exhibition is all about celebrating these animals so that people can see how beautiful they are and presents a variety of work from small mixed media sketches to large oil paintings along with framed prints.”
The exhibition opens on Saturday, April 22 at Fisherton Mill, and will continue until Saturday, May 20.
Administration Manager at Fisherton Mill, Jane Wilkinson said: “As a Gallery, we are always delighted to host the beautiful artwork created by Louise as a result of her travels. We are looking forward to an up-close view of the new work.''
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here