An African Bird

I know that most people have seen a Guinea Fowl in pictures, but many haven't actually seen one in the flesh.

They are quite large birds, they can fly for short stretches, like up into a tree. Their feathers are so strong that if you try and shoot one side on with a 22 the bullet will bounce off.... well that's what I've been told. :-D

If they happen to become road kill it's more likely that your car will be the one that dies not the bird. It can do great damage to a vehicle. So if you see one, don't try and run it over, you'll regret it.

This video shows the sounds that the male Guinea Fowl make... They don't make this noise all the time :-) They do sleep sometimes .. lol.... They love to eat ticks, so farmers love to have them on their farms :-) They'll wake you up early in the morning.

Anyway the reason I'm writing this is because A little while ago I was asked if I would paint a picture with Guinea Fowl and eventually this past week I got down to it.

All sorts of captions come to mind :-)

So cute, you just gotta love him. :-)

This is what I could see in my head, so I'm happy that it came out the way I thought it should be. Come visit me on  http://www.etsy.com/shop/sylviesdesigns

Ba Beads All the way from Africa!

I've decided that I'm going to feature Artists that are living in Africa to get them more well known. After all this blog is called Africa Bursting Out! :-D So I've contacted a few and got them to supply me with some information, which I will impart to you. I plan to do this every month, finding new artists and also talking about new things that the existing artists are producing. So watch out for them!


There is a shop on Etsy.com called BaBeads. Lovely necklaces selling out of Cape Town in South Africa. 
I must say it seems that there is quite an artists colony in the Cape :-)

Bold Red Glass Beaded Necklace.

If you click on the photo's caption you can have a look at it on Etsy.
So beautifully made! I love that clasp.


The owner tells me that when she saw these beads she could see quite clearly the necklace that they would make.
She just had to buy the beads!  :-D The small silver beads are real silver as is the clasp.


If you would like to visit BABEADS click HERE!

Watch this blog for more beautiful work.

Black Star SA... peeking out from Africa

Tracey started her shop on Etsy in August last year. and in her profile you can read the following excerpt:

 " I have been a jeweller for many years now and have been working for the last few years at a popular destination site in Cape Town called the V & A Waterfront. I decided a few months ago to start my own business and this is one of the platforms that I get to showcase my work.

All my pieces are handmade and designed by me. I like create designs that are unique. A lot of time in my work I incorporate ancient techniques with a contemporary design and other times I am just having some fun for example, my marble ring collection. I always like to incorporate stones that have the best fire."

Me again - I've been to the V & A Waterfront! It's lovely there. You'll find Cape Town's Ocean Aquarium there. It's also a great spot to stop and have a bite to eat. I'm sure they are really fussy as to whomever rents their shop space and judging by the photo's of her work I'd say she had no problem getting them to rent to her. :-D
This is one of her pieces :

Sterling Silver Snake Ring.

If you click on the picture's description it will take you to this item in her shop. The following was supplied by Tracey:


Material: Sterling Silver
Stones: Black Spinel = Eyes, 
                     Garnet = Head

Inspiration: I have always been fascinated with snakes due to their way they move. I actually had a few constritors (pythons) when I was younger which inspired the look of this snakes face.

The challenge in this piece was to create the fluid movement of a snake in silver. All the engraving on this snake is done by hand which creates a lovely glittery look to the piece.


Yup I agree.. a stunning piece of work.

Garnet Ring

As previously, click on the photo's caption and you'll be able to go shopping :-D
Here is some info on this lovely ring.


Material: Sterling Silver
Stone: Garnet

I love to use ancient techniques and combine them with a contemporary style.
In this ring I used an ancient technique with cuttle fish. This technique creates the texture on the inner band that is very effective!
I love taking my time to choose the right stones as this will generally bring my piece to life. The stone I chose here has so much fire, I really did it a injustice in my photograph.


Wow! Such lovely work coming directly out of Africa. These items are the tip of the iceberg. You should take a few minutes to check out her shop.. There are lots of great pieces there. 


To get to Black Star SA click HERE!
To get to her Facebook Page click HERE!

Thank you Kenya!

So here we are and another year has come and gone. I am so thankful for the year I had. in November of 2011 I had the privilege of visiting Kenya. I stayed in a slum called Kibera which is located in Nairobi. The experience was life changing and I even found love. It was in Kibera that I learned what the true sense of community is. People worked together without expectation of monetary compensation or a promise of a future favor; they work together because they know their survival is dependent upon it. If America can shift its culture from the individualist that it is to such a culture, we too would be prosperous. I guess it will happen when all other options have been exhausted. Don't get me wrong, I love my America, I just wish think we have a lot to learn when it comes to the spirit of community.

The best part of my travels was a visit to Lake Victoria where I ate the biggest and freshest piece of tilapia that I ever had in my life. Another unforgettable experience was when we visited Siaya county and took a casual stroll in the night. The only light that could be seen was the shining moon and stars which made for a peaceful moment. There is so much beauty in Africa that is yet untold. I plan to visit again shortly. The people have made me feel as though it is now home for me as well. I guess when you set out to help others you find you helping yourself too. Thank you Kenya!

All things bright and Beautiful

Whilst we were sailing from the Cook Islands to New Zealand via Tonga I drew and painted a Flame Lilly. The plant is indigenous to Zimbabwe, Africa and is in fact the country's national flower. Every person who has lived there and seen it growing in the wild is forever effected by it. the plant's colours are vibrant and the plant is wonderfully unusual, so I had a marvelous time painting it. I may paint others, because there are various types of the plant that produce an interesting range of different shaped flowers. So keep checking my shop to see the updates. :-D

A close-up of some of the petals

A close-up of the stamens.

Thanks for having a look. I'll be back soon. :-D

The Protea an Indigenous Flower of Africa

I was surfing the net one day and whilst I was crusing through FaceBook one of my friends from way back when called me up on chat. Mary-Kate was so pleased to find me online and we had a great time. During this conversation she mentioned that she was redoing her home and wondered if I was going to do some paintings of African indigenous flowers. Well I told her that I'd been serously considering it but hadn't gotton around to getting anything done. She asked me to have a go at a Protea and a Flame lilly. She also wants a picture of Guinea Fowl and a Striletzia. Okay I replied I'll have a go at them. Little did I know just how involved the Protea was going to be. whew it took such a long time to paint and they way I decided to do it made it even more difficult. But I think all in all it has turned out very well.

So I made a small video showing the progress of the work. I hope you enjoy it :-D

What and Why... African influences.

I have wondered recently if the readers of this blog expect only posts about things African? If so then I think we should put matters straight.

I paint things found under the vast oceans that cover our world. I also paint African wild life and flowers.
Yes I am planning to be painting some African wild flowers.....soon I promise...
Anyway I digress, I will always have Africa in me, the vast lands, the sunsets, the hot, sometimes dry, summers and cold, sometimes icy, winters...the millions of stars I grew up seeing, not realising that many people never see stars, because of city lights.

A small section of Victoria Falls.

It's not a fire...it's a sunset

I was so very fortunate to have been born there and to have grown up in such a wonderful easy relaxed atmosphere. The thing is, I'm not in Africa any more so posts from me are going to have to be about what has influenced or triggered the eventual item I've finally created.
For example....the underwater creations I produce are and always will be inspired by my first visit to Mozambique, back in the early 70's...yeah it unbelievable how long ago that was..I'm surely a fossil by now :-D...anyway digressing again...Mozambique was a place we'd go for two or three weeks every now and then and it was there that first I was introduced to walking on the reefs,'with takkies on our feet' (sneakers or trainers to the rest of the world), to protect us from the sharp edges of coral and mussel shells. Our Mom showed us little tidal pools of water where sea anemones, snails, fish, starfish, tube worms with their gorgeous feathery tendrils all lived. I was mesmerised and my brother and I would spend hours watching them. We also learned how to collect fresh mussels off the reef and then we'd cook and eat them that night for dinner. It's not surprising that my brother is an Ichthyologist- Fisheries Scientist - today.

Clear waters.

As I got older I was introduced to snorkeling and a new wonder world was opened up to me. I was totally hooked on the ocean. The water there is so unbelievably crystal clear you feel as if you are floating on nothing. In 40ft of water you feel as if you can reach down and sift the sand through your fingers. It was the first and only place I've ever seen a giant clam. It was easily 4ft long. I've told others about it but I sometimes see a skeptical look in their eyes. Still, I saw it and that's enough for me.

In the Tuamotu's clear waters..lovely.

I thought that all of earths oceans were as beautiful as this, the coast of Mozambique...WRONG! I've been places where the water is so brown or green that you cannot see more than 1 meter in front of you..and still I snorkeled it to try and see what lives in that soup. This was not caused by pollution, but by rivers. When the river flows into the ocean..for example the Amazon or any of it's offshoots, there is a lot of debris from the forest that gets swept down and out into the ocean, so much so that for many miles around the colour of the water is permanently tinted.

There are other places such as Hawaii where the water is crystal clear but for some reason corals do not do well there and so you have be satisfied with the range of fish...of which there are many. :-D However I've been spoiled by Mozambique. My partner David, has dived in the Persian Gulf and he is waiting to see Mozambique, he thinks the Gulf might be better..ha ha

Now I dived in Tortola, BVI and was pleasantly surprised, snorkeled in the Grenadines and had happy time there too..oh yes also the Venezuelan Islands, los Roquos, Aves etc..and the ABC islands...and here in the south Pacific...great places to snorkel...BUT I am still drawn back to Moz. and my memories from there, and therefore even in my painting of ocean animals I am influenced by Africa.

So our posts here might not be about Africa per se but about something that we've created BECAUSE of Africa and it's influence on us.

I've recently finished a series of Starfish and have posted them up on my Etsy site. You may not believe me that these are real. I've written about them on another blog called Quilters, Fabric Art and Creative Sewing.  http:/sylviesdesigns.blogspot.com  You can see the photo's I took of them, there, along with the painted versions. The article is called, Starfish or Sea Stars. :-D