Take me To The Edge Oil

Oil on canvas

100cmx100cmx4cm

Coastal dhow bracing for the tropical storm.

Palette knife, texture and oils.

Inspired by the beautifully refurbished ancient Mekatilili Dhow in Kilifi, Kenya. An incredible piece of craftmanship that sailed from Kilifi to Zanzibar.

‘Take me to the Edge’ has to be one of my favourite pieces this year. Dhows are naturally beautiful and steeped in history but for this piece I wanted to capture the feeling you get before a tropical storm hits.

When we were out there a few weeks ago the weather chopped and changed from sunshine to tropical rain. On the last day the sky went dark, the ocean turned sage green and sails on the boats bellowed as sailors scrambled to tie them down.

You can always smell something in the air when a storm is brewing and on the day we flew out our phones beeped with notifications from the government. They were issuing a red warning as a cyclone had hit the coast and beaches became dangerous places. Fortunately our skilled pilot took the aircraft high above the storm and we landed safely back to Nairobi.

Flying out of a cyclone…what a very apt and thrilling end to our adventure