Written by: Francisco José Hernández
I had the chance to enjoy art in motion during a morning game drive. The encounter started simply with a white female rhino and her calf feeding in an open field of long dry grass. In the distance a gentle swaying journey of giraffes approached the placid rhino duo. As the giraffes drew close they recognised the challenge laying ahead. A young giraffe’s curiosity caused it to stop ahead of the rest, stretching its neck forth, sampling the air waves, motioning its head for the best perspective, tuning its ears for the best line of sound, sniffing the air for clues. At the same time, the baby rhino sensed their presence, stopped eating, lifted its heavy head and stared at the skyline of gentle giants that lined up its horizon.
For an artist, time had stopped in its tracks, the lead on, the drama, the intensity of the moment had reached a climax point of expression that teetered dangerously the very edge of my drawing abilities. The beauty, delicateness and intensity of the moment seemed to halt the pulse of nature, certainly my heart…only to resume an instant later as both giraffe and rhino went back to grazing. I felt the moment was best captured not in a photo, but as a piece of art best reflecting the surreal magic of these creatures.





In our next Art Safari, participants will learn how to observe, pre-empt, expect and capture the shape and volume of extraordinary animals and situations. Through patient tuition I hope to nurture and encourage an understanding of how best to illustrate these moments and encounters into a sketchbook. By the time we depart everyone will have a vivid collection of sketched memories, instead of a gigabyte of images to process and store.
To comment on this story: Download our app here - it's a troll-free safe place 🙂.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC:
- Travel with us. Travel in Africa is about knowing when and where to go, and with whom. A few weeks too early / late and a few kilometres off course and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. And wouldn’t that be a pity? Browse our famous packages for experience-based safaris, search for our current special offers and check out our camps & lodges for the best prices.
- Subscribe to our FREE newsletter / download our FREE app to enjoy the following benefits.