Category: Motivation - Matthew Summers Art

PAINTING & HUNGRY CROCODILES

14/5/2009

14/5/09

'South Luangwa River, Zambia', 2008
Arriving at a campsite late in the day (on my birthday), I went for a wander down to the river to watch the sunset. I thought the right antidote to a day in a bumpy truck would be soaking my feet in the river, but the mosquitos and the threat of hungry crocodiles made the visit a brief one.

OLDUVAI GORGE & HOMINID FOSSILS

10/5/2009

'Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania', 2008
In Northern Tanzania is Olduvai Gorge, a place where many hominid fossils have been found. They have an information centre there and a small lookout from where this distinctive rock formation can be seen. Many small black mongoose were playing around in the grass in the foreground.

VAST RIFT VALLEY

5/5/2009

5/5/09

'Old Shed, Rift Valley, Kenya'.
This image is based on the view from a reststop between the Ugandan border and Nairobi. An old red shed sat near the edge of a cliff which gave way to the vast expanse of the Rift Valley. This picture is slightly larger than I usually work, but with the whole Africa/South American series I have been playing with the scale some more although I still prefer a smaller, more intimate size.

TRAVELLING RWANDA & UGANDA

30/4/2009

This is the second of the finished Africa paintings, 'Lake Bunyoni, Uganda, 2008'. Travelling through Uganda towards Rwanda you pass through lush green hills with terraced fields and banana plantations. Amongst these is Lake Bunyoni with small villages and lots of inquisitive children, a nice place to relax after long bumpy and dusty roads.

AFRICA SERIES

26/4/2009

Back from a nice two weeks in Thailand and dreading the first days back at school. I'm going to start posting pictures from a series of African paintings I did last year. I had intended to put on a show when I came back from travelling, with ten pictures from Africa and another ten from South America, but without a gallery they can be seen here. This is the first from Africa called 'Animals eating rubbish, Kabale, Uganda' from 2008. Travelling through Uganda towards Rwanda, I stopped in a small town which had a burning pile of rubbish in the centre attracting many animals scavenging for food.

PATCHWORK FIELDS & MOUNTAIN VIEWS

8/4/2009

'Lasithi Plateau, Crete, 2005'.
On a trip to Crete I travelled up into the hills to a place called the Lasithi Plateau, nestled up in the mountains, with beautiful views of a patchwork of fields and old windmills made of cloth. This image was taken from a drawing made over a lunch of skewered lamb at a local cafe.

SHARING DAVID HOCKNEY'S VIEW

7/4/2009

'Naeroydalen, Norway', 2005. A spectacular view up the valley after a dodgy bus ride up a series of hair pin bends. David Hockney painted this view as well and the cafe or hotel at the top (from where I made the drawing) had a reproduction of his picture on the wall.

OLD HARRY ROCKS

6/4/2009

This image is of a limestone rock formation on the English coast called the 'Old Harry Rocks, Dorset', from 2006. When I lived in London I would often make day trips to the coast to get some fresh air and look for fossils, the fresh air and freedom of driving were some of the things I missed the most about New Zealand.

NORTH POLE, SLEIGH DOGS & RUSSIAN GUNS

5/4/2009

In 2005 I travelled to Svalbard, halfway between Norway and the North Pole. Very quiet and desolate, with only the remains of the old whaling industry scattered about the shoreline and a few small modern settlements. Went camping, kayaking and on a day trip to look for fossils with a Russian guy who carried around a huge .45 magnum (for the bears!) and his sled dogs. Very beautiful place but will probably change as it opens up to tourism. The piece at the top is called 'Ymerbukta, Svalbard' and the one below 'Glacier, Svalbard', both painted in 2005.