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“This painting is dedicated to my father, Simon Combes (1940-2004). For the last years of his life, he was Project Director for Rhino Rescue Trust, a charity set up to reintroduce black rhino to Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya and to protect them with a high security fence. Simon went to his grave unexpectedly, but with the knowledge that this project in which he had enormous pride was a tremendous success.
“For years now, I have wanted to paint a black rhino in a setting in which I am most accustomed to seeing them. A charging rhino with lots of dust is a great subject for a dramatic painting, but there is something about this that implies a response to the threat. These great creatures are being culled to extinction at an alarming rate, so I wanted to portray the rhino in this beautiful grove of acacia abyssinica that I grew up thinking of as sacred, sublime and safe."
Angurouk (a more phonetic spelling of the Kalenjin “Ankurwaak”) means “The trees that grow in the sacred altar.”
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Guy Combes was born in Kenya in 1971, the son of artist Simon Combes.
After studying in Kenya for several years he moved to the United Kingdom to
continue his education. While in school he developed an interest in visual
art. He studied at art college in Cheltenham, then at the Inchbald School of
Design.
After a short stint as a consultant, Guy diverted his attentions to
the catering and licensing trade while painting commissions and design work.
Guy is now based in Kenya, where he manages tourist lodges and
continues to paint commissions and works for exhibition. In November 2006 he
began a program as artist-in-residence at the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum in
Oradell, New Jersey.
His current interests are the history and culture of the Swahili coast
of Africa and the diverse wildlife of Kenya. Throughout 2006 Guy visited
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Europe and the United States and will include
observations from these trips in his portfolio.
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