Simon Combes
The art world was stunned to learn of the tragic death of renowned artist, conservationist and fellow WNAG member, Simon Combes. On Sunday, December 12, 2004, atop a beautiful ancient volcano near his home in Africa's Great Rift Valley, Simon's life was tragically taken in an attack by a cape buffalo at a game reserve in Kenya one of the wild animals he so lovingly portrayed in his paintings.
Simon was born in Shaftesbury, England, in 1940 and, at the age of six, moved with his family to an 800-acre farm in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. At the age of 18, he took a job in western Kenya, managing a 2,000-acre farm with about 150 employees. The following year he was drafted, serving in the Kenya regiment. He then applied for and received a commission in the King's African Rifles. His subsequent adventures included fighting in a guerrilla war with Somalia, leading Kenya's new airborne unit (requiring a visit to Parachute School in England) and promotion to major at the tender age of 24. Of greater significance, perhaps, was the start of a new hobby. During moments of inactivity in the northern desert, Simon began to draw, and eventually paint, the local nomadic people and the landscape in which they lived.
In 1969, he was persuaded to stage an exhibition of his work in Nairobi's New Stanley Art Gallery. The show was a near sell-out and an idea about an alternate career began to form in Combes' mind. Someone made the suggestion that he paint wildlife and the creative seed was sown. In 1974, Combes said farewell to the army, bought a small house on the outskirts of Nairobi and set up shop as a freelance artist.
Best known for his stunning images of wildlife in the African bush, he achieved worldwide success and acclamation through many prestigious awards-including The Society of Animal Artists' Award of Excellence and was chosen "Artist of the Year" for the 1994 Pacific Rim Wildlife Art Show. His paintings continue hang in private and museum collections around the globe.
Simon's life was rich with great adventures and wildlife encounters. From being lost in a blizzard while crossing the Altai Mountains in Mongolia and flying into the jungles of Venezuela to sketching Bengal Tigers atop a howdah on a swaying elephant in India, his experiences and observations led him to develop his exacting artistic style, rendering his subjects with such depth and exquisite detail.
Simon had a wonderful talent for communication, whether in speech, writing or painting, never self assuming, he gave talks in Kiswahili to the farm staff, through a translator to school children in Russia and also to many interested groups around the world. Not only a man of the arts, but an avid conservationist as well.
In 2003, Simon was appointed Kenya Representative and Project Director for UK based:Rhino Rescue Trust. He sat on the boards of several wildlife conservation organisations and raised, through his art, substantial financial support for their causes. The success of his work aided Simon greatly as he sought to raise awareness of wildlife conservation; he made contributions and served on the councils of several major conservation organisations.
He is survived by his wife Kat, his children, Cindy and Guy, his sister, Jenny all of Kenya and his former wife Susie of England. We shall all remember dear Simon well.
PUBLICATIONS:
Simon Combes was also the author and artist of two critically acclaimed books.. Great Cats and An African Experience. Simon was also working on a book of Limericks about life in Kenya which reveals his ability to entertain us with his wit and humour.
Africa & Beyond: The Art & Adventures of Simon Combes (2004) Author: Simon Combes
A retrospective exhibition of 20 years of Simon's painting.
Soft Cover-64 pages (2004)
12" x 10": ISBN 0-86713-092-X
Great Cats (1990): Author: Simon Combes
For adventures, travellers and those who just love the Discovery Channel from a comfortable chair-have we got a story for you! Combes' newest book details his adventurers tracking nine of the world's biggest feline predators in their native environments-including Mongolia, Nepal, South America and even Idaho. Combes wanted wild models for the book's paintings; big cats kept in zoos lose muscle tone and a vitality that is only seen in their counterparts that are free to hunt and roam.
One of these wild cats is the subject of a giclée that accompanies the book-a young leopard Combes saw in the Aberdare Mountains National Park in Kenya.
Full colour throughout
Hardcover - 168 pages (1998)
11" x 10"; ISBN: 0-86713-048-2
An African Experience: Wildlife art and adventure in Kenya (1990)
A safari in Africa can be one of the great highlights of our lives, and Simon Combes has lived his life on one. He is one of the finest painters of wildlife alive and with this book makes his mark as a writer as well. The story of his life contained in this volume is an enthralling one: the son of an expatriate raised in colonial Kenya, a military career that spanned both sides of that nation's independence, a safari guide and artist with an eye for the adventure that is Africa. Simon's art has been published by the The Greenwich Workshop since 1980.
AN AFRICAN EXPERIENCE: Author: Simon Combes
Wildlife Art and Adventure in Kenya by Simon Combes
Forward by David Shepherd
More than 80 full colour images
Hardcover - 144 pages (1990)
9 7/16" x 12 1/8"; ISBN: 1-85310-124-9
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