A delight from beginning to end. (Review by Caroline Smart)
A career guidance counsellor once told Barbara Siedle’s parents that she
would do well as a tugboat captain. The hundreds of lovers of her work will
undoubtedly be pleased that she didn’t follow this career!
Barbara Sieldle is one of South Africa’s most acclaimed watercolour
artists, focusing particularly on birds and wild life. A status she has rightly
earned. From her first exhibition with fellow watercolour artist Wendy Amm at
the Sandown Gallery in Johannesburg in 1982, she is now represented in numerous
private and corporate art collections and has exhibited throughout South Africa
and abroad.
Breathe the Dust is dedicated to her
husband, Joe Martin. Together they make many trips to remote areas in search of
the wildlife they are passionate about.
She relates their adventures with humour such as a night drive on a
first trip to Botswana which nearly went horribly wrong or travelling across
the vast salt pans where a GPS would have been most welcome! In Botswana,
getting to the Nxamaseri Lodge in the Panhandle of the Okavango Delta was a
challenge, because the island is so small, the plane has to land on a
neighbouring island! Then there’s the telling of a scary journey down Van Zijl’s
Pass and the less hectic but equally picturesque visit to Kolmanskop in
Luderitz.
They have visited a Bushman village and were captivated by the people
but instead of the expected traditional outfits, they encountered modern
Western dress. They have seen the wild horses of Garub; observed Loggerhead
Turtle laying eggs; watched a lion hunt; enjoyed delicious apple pie in Namibia
and battled with Hurricane Domoina.
All these experiences are described so well, you feel that you are
taking the journey with her. Siedle reveals that she has a good flair for
writing and her text is easy to read and as enjoyable as her superb watercolour
images of animals and birds. She has a humorous style mixed with compassion and
her obvious love of wildlife.
The book is richly illustrated with her watercolours. Barely a page goes
by without an image, with some taking up two full pages, like the beautiful
painting of a rhino and her baby. Interwoven are interesting snippets of
history as well as practical advice, making the book very useful as a guide to
anyone wishing to visit these remote places.
Among my favourite images are a group of little bee-eaters huddled
together on a stem; two Kori Bustards, a cheetah in the long grass; an African
Darter drying its wings; a Giant Eagle Owl gazing with superiority on the
ground beneath it, and a splendid African Fish Eagle with a tiger fish.
Breathe The Dust is a delight from
beginning to end. It is on sale during
Siedle’s current exhibition at the Elizabeth Gordon Gallery which runs until
August 9. For more information call 031 303 8133.
Published by Spurwing Press - ISBN 978-0-620-57785-4
– it retails at R390. It is also available from Siedle’s website
www:barbarasiedle.com or from the Elizabeth Gordon Gallery, Florida Road Durban.
– Caroline Smart
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