My Tree - Page 1
A bush studio. That is what every natural history painter yearns for. In the late 1970s and early 1980s I had a bush studio par excellence. How I came to live at this place is another story, but if I think back on my life during this era I find it hard to believe that I had it so good and for so many years. It was at Serondella that I lived and worked under canvas in the wilderness of northern Botswana for ten dry seasons. However, what made this studio of mine so special were the natural attributes of a gigantic and ancient tree under which this studio was situated.
This tree was a large acacia Tortillis, situated well back from the steep riverbank of the Chobe river. Beneath its huge umbrella canopy there was a wonderfull patch of dense shade. On all but one side of this shady island it was surrounded by smaller trees and several large bushes of the kind that are so common along the banks ofthat stretch of the Chobe. Cascades of intertwined creepers hung down from its spreading boughs and this gave the space beneath a very cave-like feel. In this leafy cavern I pitched my tent, and the tree became my home and studio for six months of each of the many dry seasons to come.
Over such long periods of time, you become very aware of your surroundings and life under this particular tree was no exception. As the months passed the tree became the center of my universe. It constantly surprised me, because it was home to the most incredible variety of birds and small animals, many of which I came to know individually. And the time of day was not marked by the hands of a clock; rather it was determined by the familiar movement across the groundsheet of patches of light and shade. This awareness of nature extended to the immediate vicinity of the tree as well. On one side there was a large grassy clearing about a hundred meters in width, and, if one knew where to look the Kasane/Ngoma track was partially visible through the bushes that lined the opposite side of this open area.
There was a constant movement of wildlife across this clearing. During the day elephant moved slowly past, grazing and browsing as they headed towards or away from their favourite watering place on the nearby Chobe river. The bushes sheltered many bushbuck and there was a resident herd of impala. Early on I constructed a small birdbath from an old tea tray and placed it under the protective shower of some creeper near the entrance to my studio tent. Within a few days it had become the focal point of my encampment. Several small flocks of Blue Waxbills and Firefinches became regular visitors, and they became so tame that the would not fly off if I came close to look at them. Crested-Barbets, Black-Collared Barbets and Orange-Breasted Bush-Shrikes, as well as civets, busbuck, genets, mongeese and squirrels, were all constant visitors.
In the evenings, as the last rays of the sun lit up the lower branches of the acacia, the Heuglin's Robins would herald the onset of darkness with their melodic, tuneful calls........To Page 2 >



BELOW - At night there was a constant movement of elephant across the small clearing.

BELOW - My tree and my trusty 75 Landcruiser.

BELOW - By day the elephant traffic was just as hectic as was during the nights.