As a wildlife artist in Africa I never had to look far for inspiration for my work.

I am not sure what wildlife I was expecting to find in the UK, but dare I say I fell in love with the abundance of cheeky Seagulls to be found everywhere.

(Yes, I have subsequently learnt they are not everyone’s cup of tea.)

The painted collage of Seagulls you see here has a bit of a story behind it. Soon after arriving in the UK I was invited to exhibit my artwork in Wales with the Sydney Nolan Trust.

I was VERY excited! My husband and I arrived at the opening. The display of the artwork on display was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

We sought out my painting and in front of it was a couple listening avidly to an invited Art Critic.

He was telling them how “clever this Artist is!”

“She is a Zimbabwean who has used Seagulls, pecking at a newspaper, to depict the horror and violence happening in Zimbabwe.”

Well I am pleased that he saw such a deep meaning in my painting, it certainly wasn’t what I had intended when I created it!

When he moved off, I stepped forward and told the ‘true’ reason for the collaged newspaper.

My Mum and Dad as newlyweds toured London in 1952. By the end of their honeymoon, they had run out of funds and their last meal in London before they returned to Africa, was fish and chips wrapped up in Newspaper, bought after scraping all their loose change together.

(I don’t think healthy and safety existed back then haha!)

The newspaper in this collage came from Zimbabwe. I had used it to wrap up a few of my paintings I brought with me. Easy accessibility inspired its use to tell my Mum’s story.