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Rating: 
Summary: A highly recommended pick for any interested in wildlife art
Review: Africa: An Artist's Journal comes from Kim Donaldson, a renowned wildlife artist who grew up in Zimbabwe on a ranch. His lifelong passion for capturing wildlife in art lends to a journal that covers the wildlife, culture, and history of Africa as a whole. A highly recommended pick for any interested in wildlife art.
Rating:
Summary: A Truly Exceptional book
Review: For anyone who has been on safari or only dreamed of going, for animal lovers everywhere, and for those who love Africa or want to know more about the continent, this is an extraordinary guide. What I loved was the quality of the art (virtually photographic), but with a translucence and depth that photographs cannot match coupled with the insiders commentary that is incredibly humble, given the authors obvious knowledge of the subject. One of the finest African wildlife books ever and a definitive addition to my collection. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Treasurebook
Review: If you are looking for a book that does it all, this is it. Each page is a wonderfully modern treatment of the wildlife and artistic essence of unspoiled Africa. Beautiful collections of drawings, and sketches using photographs of field notes really sets off the wonderful format of the book. The artwork is breathtaking and the paintings will make your heart stir with the desire to be in Africa yourself. This is the next best thing.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Treasurebook
Review: If you are looking for a book that does it all, this is it. Each page is a wonderfully modern treatment of the wildlife and artistic essence of unspoiled Africa. Beautiful collections of drawings, and sketches using photographs of field notes really sets off the wonderful format of the book. The artwork is breathtaking and the paintings will make your heart stir with the desire to be in Africa yourself. This is the next best thing.
Rating:
Summary: A Truly Exceptional book
Review: The Strand Book Stall at Bangalore was having its yearly sale in DEC.2003. I was out there browsing when I ran into this gorgeous elephant on the cover of this book. I get this feeling about books and knew I had to buy this one - it reminded me of the book by Ernest Thompson Seton that I read way back in 1986. It set me back by INR 1,615, but what the heck; the "Lions of the Serengeti" on pp. 12-13 itself recovered the cost of the "investment"!The more I go through this book, the more I am amazed. Somehow, Kim Donaldson has come out with a masterpiece on Nature in Africa in all its glory and has been able to capture the many animals and their many moods in their natural habitat in a style that makes you feel that you have "walked the walk and experienced the silence" of Africa. Here's Kim's idea of a painting: "The way I decide the worth of a painting of Africa is by the feeling it evokes - whether it makes me homesick." There are real gems right through the book. Tucked away at the top of the painting titled Grevy's zebra on pp. 154-155 is this African song of praise to the zebra:
~~~~~
You, who are night & day in one body
You, who are dark & light in one form
You, who are good & evil in one shape
Animal of two colors, animal of perfect harmony.
~~~~~ I browse this book at the junction points of a day: dawn and dusk. It reminds me of Sri Ramakrishna's observation that Nature is a majestic expression of divinity. It also reminded me of a particular verse in the Bhagavad Gita. So I hunted for the same in the copy of the Bhagavad Gita that I have, which is a translation by Barbara Stoler Miller (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553213652/104-8977925-4483157). After some searching, I found the verse:
~~~~~
Deluded men despise me
in the human form I have assumed,
ignorant of my higher existence
as the great lord of creatures.
~~~~~ Imagine my shock when I noticed that the number of the verse was 9.11 (Chapter 9, Verse 11)!
Rating:
Summary: Even better than photos!
Review: The Strand Book Stall at Bangalore was having its yearly sale in DEC.2003. I was out there browsing when I ran into this gorgeous elephant on the cover of this book. I get this feeling about books and knew I had to buy this one - it reminded me of the book by Ernest Thompson Seton that I read way back in 1986. It set me back by INR 1,615, but what the heck; the "Lions of the Serengeti" on pp. 12-13 itself recovered the cost of the "investment"! The more I go through this book, the more I am amazed. Somehow, Kim Donaldson has come out with a masterpiece on Nature in Africa in all its glory and has been able to capture the many animals and their many moods in their natural habitat in a style that makes you feel that you have "walked the walk and experienced the silence" of Africa. Here's Kim's idea of a painting: "The way I decide the worth of a painting of Africa is by the feeling it evokes - whether it makes me homesick." There are real gems right through the book. Tucked away at the top of the painting titled Grevy's zebra on pp. 154-155 is this African song of praise to the zebra:
~~~~~
You, who are night & day in one body
You, who are dark & light in one form
You, who are good & evil in one shape
Animal of two colors, animal of perfect harmony.
~~~~~ I browse this book at the junction points of a day: dawn and dusk. It reminds me of Sri Ramakrishna's observation that Nature is a majestic expression of divinity. It also reminded me of a particular verse in the Bhagavad Gita. So I hunted for the same in the copy of the Bhagavad Gita that I have, which is a translation by Barbara Stoler Miller (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553213652/104-8977925-4483157). After some searching, I found the verse:
~~~~~
Deluded men despise me
in the human form I have assumed,
ignorant of my higher existence
as the great lord of creatures.
~~~~~ Imagine my shock when I noticed that the number of the verse was 9.11 (Chapter 9, Verse 11)!
Rating:
Summary: The Book You Must Have
Review: This book is for anyone who loves Africa, wildlife and or artwork. It has pages and excerpts from his field sketchbooks, drawings, sketches and paintings. The artwork is exquisite. What makes it a must have is that you also get a well written brief history/description of the countries, the national parks, animals and people residing in each region interposed with Kim Donalson's personal experiences. It makes you feel like you have been there.
Rating:
Summary: The Book You Must Have
Review: This book is for anyone who loves Africa, wildlife and or artwork. It has pages and excerpts from his field sketchbooks, drawings, sketches and paintings. The artwork is exquisite. What makes it a must have is that you also get a well written brief history/description of the countries, the national parks, animals and people residing in each region interposed with Kim Donalson's personal experiences. It makes you feel like you have been there.
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