Deep In Thought – Samburu Man – Kenya
The original painting measured 53 x 43 cm. and was painted in Mixed media
This is a piece I painted as a result of our trip to Kenya 2009. I was so excited to be returning to this village I had initially visited in ‘07. We were staying at Kicheche Lakipia camp and I knew we were near Ereri Multi-cultural village and would be able to visit again so I had taken along photographs of the paintings I had finished as a result of my last visit. They were so excited to think that I would visit again and this time bring my friends with me and even more excited to discover that one of the paintings I had done was of the Witchdoctor/Chief’s wife! I still recommend this village visit to anyone in the area, though you must contact them and let them know you are coming. They usually have 3 distinctive groups of people there from the Samburu, Turkana and Pokot tribes. These tribal groups don’t always get along in other tribal areas but here in this village they are keen to display their unique cultures and way of life through demonstration of their beliefs, dress, dance, song, housebuilding and lifestyle. This man was playing a typical African game called mancala, and along with two other men, was squatting down on the ground with his red kanga draped over him and in deep concentration over what his next move should be. I thought it would make a beautiful strong textural design so I incorporated a textured hand made paper into the background which I then painted to give this lovely textural layers and enhance the strong black/red/white contrasts. The skin is pastel, the red Kanga is a fine lawn fabric I have added and then painted.
