Having lived a number of years in Botswana and Zimbabwe, Nicholls is wholly inspired by the African wilderness, with almost all of her paintings and sketches revolving around African wildlife. As such, her creative process includes conservation sketching expeditions, which allows her to visit African conservation organizations, sketch on-site and learn in detail about conservation issues.

According to Nicholls, while her studio paintings consist of multiple layers, her sketches require confidence and speed. “I usually work in pencil or pen first, then add watercolor,” she explains on her website. “I don’t have an easel or a chair because I usually stand when sketching people, or need to be in a vehicle when sketching wildlife,” she notes.

An added bonus to her work is that it raises awareness and funds for conservation organizations. Nicholls explains that with each sale of her work, she makes a donation to various organizations. “It can be a real challenge to depict complex issues like the human-wildlife conflict in a painting,” she goes on to say, adding that the layers of color add to the layers of meaning and vice versa.

The post Explore the African Wilderness Through Alison Nicholls’ Paintings appeared first on MobiSpirit.

In this article, we present to you a Serbian jewelry artist who creates jewelry inspired by African culture and the beauty of African women. She makes all of her jewelry out of natural materials like wool, string, metal and colorful stones. Her pieces look magnificent on women of all shapes, colors and sizes, and they can be worn on stage and at some formal events, but also in everyday life. Her style is very unique, recognizable and bold.

The artist has 21k followers on her Instagram account @utopia_manufactory who are crazy about her jewelry, and the photos she takes of models wearing her pieces look elegant and empowering.  

Check some of the designs below!

The post Creating Africa-Inspired Jewelry From The Balkans appeared first on MobiSpirit.

According to Obaga, her work stems from a love of local African art such as Kisii soapstone sculptures, Maasai beadwork, Kikuyu weaving, and Swahili lesos. So it comes as no surprise that her journey into illustration was kicked into gear by an early interest in fashion design. “I love that something that could be called ‘modern minimal’ is a traditional craft of my people,” said Obaga in an interview with VISI Magazine.

“I don’t consider myself a great artist, but when I started posting on the internet, you couldn’t run a search for African artists that weren’t from West Africa,” she added. “I think I just wanted to encourage young and talented African people to put their work out there, in progress, without fear. There is so much out there now, so in turn, young and incredibly talented Africans inspire me today.”

“What I love most about being creative is that it’s the thing that can take a situation from hopeless to endless in possibility,” she went on to explain. “Creativity is inherently human because we don’t know the future. We’re creating each moment as we live it. If creation is the act of making from nothing, then creativity is the attitude required for it to happen. When you’re aware of it, it’s so empowering.”

Take a look at some of her striking illustrations.

The post Artist Creates Minimal Illustrations Inspired by African Folklore appeared first on MobiSpirit.

Having lived a number of years in Botswana and Zimbabwe, Nicholls is wholly inspired by the African wilderness, with almost all of her paintings and sketches revolving around African wildlife. As such, her creative process includes conservation sketching expeditions, which allows her to visit African conservation organizations, sketch on-site and learn in detail about conservation issues.

According to Nicholls, while her studio paintings consist of multiple layers, her sketches require confidence and speed. “I usually work in pencil or pen first, then add watercolor,” she explains on her website. “I don’t have an easel or a chair because I usually stand when sketching people, or need to be in a vehicle when sketching wildlife,” she notes.

An added bonus to her work is that it raises awareness and funds for conservation organizations. Nicholls explains that with each sale of her work, she makes a donation to various organizations. “It can be a real challenge to depict complex issues like the human-wildlife conflict in a painting,” she goes on to say, adding that the layers of color add to the layers of meaning and vice versa.

The post Explore the African Wilderness Through Alison Nicholls’ Paintings appeared first on MobiSpirit.

In this article, we present to you a Serbian jewelry artist who creates jewelry inspired by African culture and the beauty of African women. She makes all of her jewelry out of natural materials like wool, string, metal and colorful stones. Her pieces look magnificent on women of all shapes, colors and sizes, and they can be worn on stage and at some formal events, but also in everyday life. Her style is very unique, recognizable and bold.

The artist has 21k followers on her Instagram account @utopia_manufactory who are crazy about her jewelry, and the photos she takes of models wearing her pieces look elegant and empowering.  

Check some of the designs below!

The post Creating Africa-Inspired Jewelry From The Balkans appeared first on MobiSpirit.

According to Obaga, her work stems from a love of local African art such as Kisii soapstone sculptures, Maasai beadwork, Kikuyu weaving, and Swahili lesos. So it comes as no surprise that her journey into illustration was kicked into gear by an early interest in fashion design. “I love that something that could be called ‘modern minimal’ is a traditional craft of my people,” said Obaga in an interview with VISI Magazine.

“I don’t consider myself a great artist, but when I started posting on the internet, you couldn’t run a search for African artists that weren’t from West Africa,” she added. “I think I just wanted to encourage young and talented African people to put their work out there, in progress, without fear. There is so much out there now, so in turn, young and incredibly talented Africans inspire me today.”

“What I love most about being creative is that it’s the thing that can take a situation from hopeless to endless in possibility,” she went on to explain. “Creativity is inherently human because we don’t know the future. We’re creating each moment as we live it. If creation is the act of making from nothing, then creativity is the attitude required for it to happen. When you’re aware of it, it’s so empowering.”

Take a look at some of her striking illustrations.

The post Artist Creates Minimal Illustrations Inspired by African Folklore appeared first on MobiSpirit.