"My African Odyssey began in January 2023, exploring the hills and plains of the central highlands in Kenya, a land of rich cultivation and abundant wildlife. I then headed to the Swahili island of Lamu, which is steeped in the history and culture of the maritime peoples that traded down from the Red Sea and across the Indian Ocean. The legacy of these traditions is best represented today by the dhows that still grace these waters, their distinct sails stabbing the horizon–a painter’s dream!
The following winter found me back in Essaouira –a bit of an old favourite of mine–with its magnificent, fortified Medina defying the wild rolling Atlantic constantly hammering its walls. Painting in the souks is always a challenge, with the hustle and bustle of daily life all around and plenty of folk peeking over your shoulder with an opinion, but this also brings an energy that can be channelled into the painting process and becomes an event that lives on in the memory.
Painting for me is no static pastime of the studio; it’s best done outdoors with room to jump back and forth and sweep at the canvas, with a finite amount of time; two and a half hours at most before the light has trans formed the scene and feeling completely. No time for fiddling or fussing or ‘getting it right’; it either works or doesn’t, and don’t look back! It is primarily about capturing a feeling of a particular time and place: that is the essence of painting en plein air as far as I’ve come to practise it.
This show wouldn’t have occurred without the advice, support and generous hospitality of Susie and Willy Watson in Nanyuki, and Simon and Annabelle Dugdale of African -Experts.com. And to my marvellous and steadfast wife, Laura, and our boys Paddy and Xander: Asante Sana!"
-Tom Hoar, March 2024
● Sold
● Reserved
If you are interested in any of the reserved paintings, it is worth contacting the gallery as they may become available.
