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balaa — The Leopard Sun

#africa #balaa #botswana #leopard #sunflowers #wildfire #wildlife #dry_season_only #expanding_horizons #anastasia_korochanskaya
Published: 2016-10-11 19:34:42 +0000 UTC; Views: 21746; Favourites: 1061; Downloads: 216
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Description

“The road was straight, long and uneventful and with the morning energy waning from our group, each person fell to their own private thoughts.

I wondered if the stars would be as magnificent over the Kalahari, whether I might glimpse a brown hyena, and that I couldn’t wait to peel my socks off and have them laundered. 

It was appropriate then that when we least expected it, when our exuberance for this magical place was somewhat dulled by exhaustion, that it should remind us that wonder stalks around the corner.

Lelobu, our new vehicle, slowed with a lurch and B-man whispered, “Leopard”.

And there he was, trotting on the roadside ahead, not 40 feet away.  My heart clenched in disbelief as he swerved and dove into the swaddle of ochre painted brush. Our vehicle pulled up beside him and I became acutely aware of the awkward prattling din of our vehicle’s engine.

A fierce effulgent gaze that rivaled the brilliance of the sun commanded us to the fall of awe.

And then he was gone.” --Excerpt from “Dry Season Only”

This is a piece I completed sometime last year for our Expanding Horizons Kickstarter and the book that would later be called "Dry Season Only" (for REASONS).

This painting is a coalescence of many moments from our trip to Botswana. It all sped by so fast, a tangle of moments with indeterminable beginnings and ends. It was all hard to process in the moment, so it makes sense, I suppose, that through art these memories found their place and the poignancy of emotion that I did not have a chance to experience in the moment itself.

 

This piece is dedicated to my husband, Lorien, and to Hawa, The Leopard Sun.

 

There are so many more words I could use in this description to talk about this piece, what it means to me and how it came to be but I feel I’d just be regurgitating passages of the book.

 

If you are interested, there are still some limited number of books available through the artists that I was blessed enough to share this journey with.  This is an extremely limited run and unlikely that it will be published again due to prohibitive costs.  But if you would like to have one of your own and share in our story and support it’s creators, you may purchase a copy from myself or one of the other incredible artists that went.

 

You can buy one of my copies from:  spiramirabilis.storenvy.com/co…

 

Or Laura Garabedian’s shop at:

www.etsy.com/shop/LauraGarabed…

 

Or Foxfeather’s shop at:

www.etsy.com/listing/294961275…



As always, thank you for looking folks, your support is what made this book, this piece, and just about all the work I do possible. Thank you for being a source of encouragement and inspiration!

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Comments: 28

LindArtz [2018-01-11 00:36:43 +0000 UTC]

A beautiful artwork showing terrific camouflage!!  If I could give this a DD too, I would!! !!!

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Compilsiom [2017-12-23 03:05:18 +0000 UTC]

Hello. May I use this art on Animal Jam Clans Wiki. This character will NOT be portrayed as a personal character. Thank you for reading this, and I love this so much.

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Caine-of-Nod [2017-12-21 02:52:29 +0000 UTC]

Impressive, Fantastic, and Stunning Artwork!!!                                              

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Kelshray [2017-03-03 16:04:26 +0000 UTC]

My God, It's just so amazing, I can's describe how much...

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Cexxloc [2017-02-27 22:58:09 +0000 UTC]

very nice

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Ka-Rei [2017-01-16 10:20:26 +0000 UTC]

The image is sad and depressive, like telling: "The death approaches."
And it has a shape of leopard, yay ^_^

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shekiahjoy [2016-11-27 04:05:05 +0000 UTC]

Love the colours in this!

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Joannamation [2016-11-21 23:00:52 +0000 UTC]

Gorgeous work.
I love the surreal element with the burning sunflowers.

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DM7 [2016-11-15 20:10:33 +0000 UTC]

Wow so beautiful. I love how you managed to put tiny lights shimmering through there and there. Epic piece!

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Valentina-Remenar [2016-11-08 13:36:55 +0000 UTC]

Another simply gorgeous artwork by you... love the contrast between the darkness which you have on the left and more peaceful scene on the right   

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jennystokes [2016-10-25 10:27:59 +0000 UTC]

Excellent 'surreal' look about this.

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Derbella [2016-10-19 21:10:26 +0000 UTC]

 

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asdfghjkl0440 [2016-10-16 15:00:28 +0000 UTC]

This looks super cool! <3.
the writing and the picture itself give off so much emotion and I love it!

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dingo-murci [2016-10-14 17:03:04 +0000 UTC]

wonderfull

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annewipf [2016-10-14 15:26:27 +0000 UTC]

So beautiful, great artwork!

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RNDave [2016-10-13 19:14:28 +0000 UTC]

Probably my fav deviation of yours. Congratulations, it's amazing

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MomokoShinzoArts [2016-10-12 19:48:32 +0000 UTC]

Amazing

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DragoRoku [2016-10-12 17:32:09 +0000 UTC]

Dazzling.

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mecengineer [2016-10-12 17:10:55 +0000 UTC]

amazing

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bonbon3272 [2016-10-12 16:26:08 +0000 UTC]

Nice!

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YasminFoster [2016-10-12 08:35:13 +0000 UTC]

Woa...  

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0MUSUNDA [2016-10-12 06:03:34 +0000 UTC]

It is nice to see this image in its actual colours, and the details are remarkable. It's kind of surreal being able to see all of it, as the print itself appears to be darker and the details kind of melt away in colour.

It was a nice thing to be able to read that book, the adventures you had with your group are very captivating, and the entire thing has made me long to travel to Africa as well. One visit is not enough, as with any country, to truly take in everything there is to offer, but it looks like you all made the most of your time there, and I'm really happy to see how well the Dry Season Only book turned out to be. Your works are inspiration, and I look forward to seeing more in the future

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VonZeitZuZeit [2016-10-12 00:04:36 +0000 UTC]

Absolutely stunning work! I like the colors and the depiction of the fire, it’s really fascinating.

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FrostedCanid [2016-10-11 21:44:56 +0000 UTC]

I don't think I've ever actually screamed on seeing a piece before
Holy cow well done QwQ

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Lhuin [2016-10-11 21:05:29 +0000 UTC]

Saw some wips of this earlier, so great to see the full painting! It's so gorgeous

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TamberElla [2016-10-11 19:54:08 +0000 UTC]

This is so incredibly gorgeous. Your work always amazes me

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UDtheAesir [2016-10-11 19:47:23 +0000 UTC]

Beautiful!

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lilwyverngirl [2016-10-11 19:38:11 +0000 UTC]

This is absolutely lovely~! I love the colors and the sunflowers - how they are even warped and shaped by the fire behind the leopard. All of the piece comes together in a natural yet powerful way~ <3

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