Kim Donaldson (born 1952 in
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...
) is a
Zimbabwean artist who specializes in painting the peoples and
wildlife of Africa
The fauna of Africa, in its broader sense, is all the animals living in Africa and its surrounding seas and islands. The more characteristic African fauna is found in the Afrotropical realm. Lying almost entirely within the tropics, and equally to ...
. Having spent his early life on a ranch in what was
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
, Donaldson was perfectly placed to develop and nurture his interest in the wildlife and people that surrounded him.
Career
Donaldson's paintings document the political and environmental issues facing the continent and his painting style incorporates several techniques including
realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
and
impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...
.
His work in
pastel
A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...
is the most recognized of his oeuvres; however, recent works in oil and mixed media have also seen great success amongst collectors worldwide. His use of a wide palette and texture gives a sense that the works were painted using the red soil of Africa.
Donaldson has been featured in four books, participated in numerous one man shows and group exhibitions throughout
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
, and sold his works in several auction houses.
Donaldson's passion for the wildlife of Africa led him to write a book "Africa, An Artist's Journal" detailing his travels and experiences that give him the reference for his beautiful paintings.
Donaldson's book took him over 4½ years to complete. He designed, wrote and illustrated the book himself; it became a best-seller in five countries and was highly commended by
Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
book award for design.
Artwork
Image:Lion in the sage.jpg
Image:Golden Moment.jpg
Image:Past umfolosi giraffe.jpg
References
External links
Kim Donaldson's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaldson, Kim
1952 births
Living people
Zimbabwean artists
20th-century Zimbabwean painters
Zimbabwean illustrators
Wildlife artists