Wild Wings,Wild Wonder; Zimbabwe Bird Rises…

My passion for painting on walls, for graffiti, for wings and things… has inspired this set of wings painted at Pikicha Gallery in Harare, where we are shortly to open an art exhibition, “Burnt Offerings, Re-Invention, Taking Flight” –

Pikicha manageress sweet Nonoe (Nontando)

I didn’t want ordinary pretty wings – I wanted a feeling of “Burnt Offerings”, power, re-invention, taking flight….a dragon or a Phoenix rising from the ashes, a true Zimbabwe bird, vibrant hornbill colour, eagle strength!!

My preparatory sketch is watched over by Johnson’s Heineken bottle wire bird…..



So, starting with white, painting on the Heineken logo wall at Pikicha…with a kind donation of paints by my friends at Dulux Zimbabwe, who are great supporters of street art and artists in Zimbabwe.


Then, by layering Wild Wonder (Dulux Colour of the Year 2023) with our dear friend Hope Masike, who is also Kelli’s fellow film/composer/music collaborator – we celebrate the soft beginnings, the promise, of these wings..

Hope Masike spreading her wild wings, with wild wonder !

And of course the red white and green are excellent Heineken colours as well – let’s fly together with the boss of Heineken, Zimbabwe!!!!

Taking Flight… inspired by Zimbabwe Flag colours and one of my canvas paintings…after the soft underpainting, I decide to go bold, go wild!

The Zimbabwe flag colours seem perfect for my wild wings-

So, here comes the green, with wild wonder as the base colour showing through in many places – a great neutral decor shade, perfect with the Heineken logo as well-

I didn’t want ordinary, pretty wings – flaming fiery Dulux red comes next ..!!

I wanted a feeling of “Burnt Offerings”, power, re-invention, Phoenix rising from the ashes, zimbabwe bird, eagle strength, Taking Flight…

Similar to my large Hornbill and Diamond painting on our art show-

Hornbill and Diamond, mixed media on canvas by Lin Barrie

Dulux Rainbow Yellow is added at the last…. flames, fire, feathers, wings……..

Detail from the wall painting

inspired also by the vibrant flowing, flying Dulux Logo

Reggae Flavaz can’t resist a selfie……

Ranger from Reggae Flavas, taking flight …

Of course while I complete the wild wings I need to test some Jamaican cuisine … yum…

Barbecue Jerk Pork fresh from the grill at Reggae Flavor, Emagumeni
Good food ! At Emagumeni, Pikicha Gallery, Helensvale

The Wild Wings are also really vibrant, representing reggae/rasta colours, echoing the Jamaican restaurant Reggae Flavas which adds great Caribbean food to the mix at the Emagumeni Complex in Helensvale- so come for a combined feast of traditional food, barbecue food, wings, (of course?!) Jamaican flavas and of course lots of art -paintings, wire sculpture and art film!

For fans of African/Portuguese cuisine here are one of my Emugameni favorites, peri peri chicken gizzards….with caramelized onions, garlic bread and chakalaka beans – heaven on a fork, flying into my mouth…

Having got carried away by the food on offer at Emagumeni, back to the art…..

Come and get a selfie at Emagumeni/Reggae Flavaz/Pikicha Gallery…..

and view “Burnt Offerings; Re-Invention; Taking Flight….”

Curated by Kuda Chakwaz, this is a collection of paintings and installations by Lin Barrie; wire and found objects art by Johnson Zuze; an art film and photographic installation incorporating body painting, dance, fashion, music by Kelli Barker and her colleagues Faz Pixels and Sebastien Lallemand, (plus Hope Masike and Ivhu Tribe, to name just a few of the wonderful Zimbabwean creatives who have assisted with this film).

Join us at Pikicha Gallery for the opening 2nd and 3rd June, as per invite, and the exhibition remains on view for two months.

Posted in abstract art, Africa, africa, art, art collaboration, art exhibition, art gallery, art video, birdart, birds, Body Art, Body Painting, Caribbean travel, colour of the year, Colour of the YearYear, cooking, culture, dragons, drawing, dulux, Dulux Zimbabwe, fashion, film, fire, flight, food, food culture, Graffitti, Harare, how to train your dragon, interior decor, Johnson Zuze, Life Drawing, lifestyle, lin barrie, Lin Barrie Art, Lin Barrie publication, make up, make up artist, mbira, music, paintings, phoenix, photography, poetry, rainbow, re-cycled art, re-cycled products, recycled art, sculpture, sketching, slow food, street art, Trashart, travel, Uncategorized, video, virtual art exhibition, wall art, wall murals, Wallpaint, zimbabwe, Zimbabwe artists, Zimbabwean Art, Zimbabwean Artist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bodies, Art and Ethics in Zimbabwe

youtube.com/watch

Proudly Zimbabwean make up artist Kelli Barker in a thoughtful and well informed interview, ahead of our exhibition Burnt Offerings, Re-Invention, Taking Flight-

Kelli’s relationship with her fellow creatives and her body art, film or make up models is resonant with warmth and compassion- putting people at ease and creating firm friendships is her guiding strength, allowing her to then freely create her magic !

Brilliant interview on #art #bodypainting #collaboration #beautyethics #lifestyle #healthandwellness #compassion #brides #models #filmindustry #fashion #bodyart #artexhibitions #zimbabweancreatives #makeupartist #personaltrainer #kellibarker with storyuntoldzw

Posted in abstract art, Abstract female exoressionist art, Africa, African child, art, art collaboration, art exhibition, art gallery, art on clothes, art video, artprints, beauty, Body Art, body artist, Body Painting, City Life, culture, destination wedding, exotic wedding, family, fashion magazine, film, fire, Graffitti, Harare, Life Drawing, Lin Barrie Art, Lin Barrie publication, make up, make up artist, movies, music, paintings, photography, poetry, re-cycled art, theatre, Uncategorized, video, virtual art exhibition, wedding, zimbabwe, Zimbabwe National Art Gallery, Zimbabwean Art, Zimbabwean Artist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

No fire without smoke; palm frond calligraphy

There’s no fire without some smoke- so this is the flip side of part of my huge canvas featured in previous posts -a smoky haze scripted with the burnt frass floating after a burn … using my palm frond calligraphy tools and sweeping my hearth always with my trusty mutsvairo.

What am I writing -the secret is refreshing- Asemic writing allows me, and the viewer, to dream into the story

Elements of cave paintings or even Chinese calligraphy float through the smoke haze onto my canvas

Mark making with torn Lala palm fronds – soft yet scratchy nibs are tactile and easy to write with- very satisfying…

Here is the full huge painting:

There is no smoke without fire – 180 cm wide

two sides to the same story – there’s no smoke without fire and vice versa

Posted in abstract art, Abstract female exoressionist art, Africa, art, art exhibition, asemic writing, calligraphy, climate change, environment, fire, Fire regimes, landscapes, Lin Barrie Art, paintings, poetry, sketching, Uncategorized, virtual art exhibition, Zimbabwe artists, Zimbabwean Art, Zimbabwean Artist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A New Broom Sweeps Clean; A Blank Canvas…

My Mutsvairo …

Taking palm fronds.
Sweeping the earth free of footprints
free of yesterday.

Gone are thoughts …
worries, regrets.
creating a blank canvas potential just for today

Lin Barrie

Working towards an exhibition is always energizing

Sweeping Clean!

Burnt Offerings is a recurring theme for me..

I have always been fascinated by fire. 

It has a terrible beauty; it’s dual nature is destructive and creative at the same time…

For years, since we suffered two successive domestic fires in our lives, one in Harare and one at our bush lodge, I have been driven to collect the burnt memorabilia of my life; to create an offering of artworks in response to that experience….. Burnt Offerings.

Sweeping clean, using a traditional broom, a mutsvairo, made from Lala palm fronds, to clear my hearth, my canvas, to create new work- lay down some fire….

Of course there’s no smoke without fire so I start with flames – acrylic and oil bar – abstract expression of my creative fire burning ..

I cut and tear palm fronds from my mutsvairo to create calligraphic pens to write with – such satisfying scribing tools

Asemic writing, secret writing- it means whatever you want it to mean- and I find it deeply relaxing and empowering as I write thoughts deeply hidden without having to actually form words!

Scraffiti, graffiti, calligraphy- Secret stories laid at my feet, fueling my creative fire !

My canvas is #onfire #flaming and #makingmarks #writing #scripting #scribing with #palmfronds from my #mutsvaire #broom makes me happy!

Of course there’s two sides to every story and this huge canvas I am working on has a flip side- two sides to every coin and no smoke without fire- so the second side of my canvas will be smoke (and mirrors?!)

The full fire painting -180 cm wide

How will I display it?!
watch out for the next post…..

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My Art; Rihanna and O’Keeffe…..

Well! What do my art, Rihanna, The Met Gala, Coco Chanel, and Georgia O’Keeffe have in common?

One of my favourite art newsletter, Artnet news has this, about one of my favourite artists…:

Flowers, whether camellias or Jimson Weed, Paper roses or Moonflowers, it’s flowers, art, dress design, music and poetry all the way…..

Heres my poem and my large impressionist floral art, deeply inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe,

“Moonflower”

Moonflower.

Memories.

Midnight

in the garden

of good and evil.

Deeply scented, 

fragmented whispers

trickle from the embrace

of the fluted cup 

in velvet African darkness. 

Enticing, alluring, 

softly unsettling.

Lin Barrie

Shared in an article in the Zimbabwean Gardener magazine last year, then on display at The Dulux Zimbabwe showroom

Now “Moonflower” is on display at the Borrowdale Brooke Golf Club, an apt setting for the painting, as in this very estate we walk at night enveloped by the gorgeous summer floral scent of these glorious but poisonous plants …!

Bright Skies and moonflowers inspire my floral art…. a previous blog

Posted in Africa, African flora, African Plant Hunter, art, art exhibition, beauty, bio diversity, cityscape art, colour of the year, dulux, Dulux Zimbabwe, ecosystem, environment, Floral art, gardens, gardens and flowers, Georgia O'Keeffe, Golf club, Golf Course, Harare, interior decor, landscapes, lifestyle, Lin Barrie Art, Lin Barrie publication, moonrise, night Sky, poetry, poison, rains, Rainy. Season, sky, soft furnishings, The Met Gala, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Flamingo Flight; All Things Connected; My Delight!

Lin Barrie, Flamingo Flight, All Things Connected, acrylic on canvas, 80 x 200 cm –

This painting is a portrayal of Flamingoes in flight, celebrating the biodiversity of ecosystems, especially on the West Coast of Africa, and the inter-connectedness of all things…

the web of life, the fragility of life…

All things connected…. my mantra is biodiversity, ecosystems, one world, our earth….

Our responsibility as artists, as conservationists, is to look our fellow earth inhabitants in the eye and embrace the multitude of life around us.

I have been inspired to paint these flying pink perfections, having watched flamingoes fly past me at eye level from the high Chilo Safari Lodge deck overlooking the great Save River in Zimbabwe, (en route from Mozambique to Namibia I would guess, and stopping over at the ephemeral pans of Gonarezhou National Park).

The Fine Art Gallery, Swakopmund, Namibia, is featuring my art in their Wildlife Art Exhibition online, and favourite works can be voted for!

so please do follow the link and browse the artworks…

I’d love you to vote for your favourite public choice award!! Clients, family and friends, do vote either by sending an email with your name or by using the contact form via our webpage https://art-in-namibia.com/calling-list/  

(The artist with the most votes wins a N$ 5.000.- as well as the lucky winner from the draw who can win an additional N$ 5.000…. and this all creates great support for the Namibian Wildlife Projects of the Peace Park Foundation, especially if the artwork sells, as a large commission goes straight to the Projects)

Peace Parks work tirelessly in Africa for biodiversity…

As an example, Peace Parks are supported by Blue Action Fund in Mozambique – preserving habitat for marine mammals, fish birds such as flamingoes…which then fly on to Namibia…all things connected… https://www.linkedin.com/company/blueactionfund/

Posted in abstract art, Abstract female exoressionist art, Africa, Africa Parks, African child, African Safari, african waterbirds, art, art collaboration, art exhibition, beauty, bio diversity, birdart, birding, Birdlife South Africa, Birdlife Zimbabwe, birds, bush camps, Chilo Gorge, Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge, chilojo cliffs, citizen science, conservation, conservation news, eco-tourism, ecosystem, environment, flamingo, flamingoes, flight, gonarezhou national park, great limpopo transfrontier conservation Area, Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park, landscape, lifestyle, lin barrie, Lin Barrie Art, Lin Barrie publication, lowveld, mozambique, namibia, paintings, peace parks, poetry, responsible tourism, rewilding, Rivers, safari, Save River, sketching, sky, tourism, Uncategorized, virtual art exhibition, waterbirds, Weather, wetland, wetlands, wilderness, wildlife, zimbabwe, Zimbabwe artists, Zimbabwe National Parks, Zimbabwe Parks, Zimbabwean Art, Zimbabwean Artist, zimbabweanart | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

All Things Connected; Community Conservation.

Communities coexisting with wildlife are the only way forward for truly sustainable conservation.

Often on the Save River near Mahenye Village, I watch colourful, hardy Nguni cattle drinking at sunset and giving way to elephants; ladies washing their vibrant clothes in the late afternoon sun on the shore of an African river where African wild dogs roam…

The river is the porous divide between domestic and wild-a fascinating and challenging overlapping of two ways of life.

My two paintings are complementary to each other, reflecting the need for integration, for understanding of wildlife/domestic stock issues in sensitive Zimbabwean ecosystems; celebrating the importance of vital community support for wildlife, for a healthy biodiverse climate.

All Things Connected in the web of life.

Lin Barrie, Nguni Sunset, acrylic on loose canvas, 55 x 90 cm

Lin Barrie, Painted Wolves Sunset, acrylic on loose canvas, 55 x 90 cm

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Wild Wonder; It’s a wild wide wonderful world that we live in…

Wild Wonder; it’s a wild and wonderful world…

Colour in nature inspires me and no lovelier colour than this Dulux colour of the year Wild Wonder:

So many plants do not successfully flower, set seed and germinate unless rejuvenating veld fire has passed over them -an analogy for life I always feel- it’s the trials of life that hone and fine us to our better selves ….

here’s a detail from my painting:

My large painting called Wild Wonder Pincushion is ablaze with the peachy oranges and flashes of fiery red that stud the veld when these leucospermums are in bloom.

Here’s the full artwork:


my poem:

The Wild Wonder of fynbos…

The fire-honed colour of sunsets

and earth…

Africa is abuzz

in all it’s pincushion glory.

Lin Barrie


I have placed this painting and it’s companion into the Dulux Zimbabwe showroom …a great creative collaborative space in Harare.

My painting Wild Wonder Abstract is a joyful swirl of colour celebrating the wild world, the wide world, we live in

Underpinned by Wild Wonder Colour of the Year – this painting embraces the Buzz palette of warm peachy tones that call to the very bees to come visit… succulent colour!

My poem

The Wild Wonder of abstraction…

The buzz and swirl of nature renewed

and vibrant…

Africa is alive

in all it’s painted glory.

Lin Barrie

It’s a wild wide wonderful world and I paint it!

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Wild Wonder, Purple Rain

“Wild Wonder, Purple Rain…”

Tubular bells, tiny trumpets.
Falling flowers fill my jacaranda dreams like lilac rainfall.

Drifting across the Wild Wonder of my self made horizon.

Lin Barrie

Inspired by Dulux colour of the year Wild Wonder, I am partnering with Dulux Zimbabwe for the Floral Art Show by the national association of garden clubs zimbabwe.

Many zimbabwean artists are displaying artworks at this show and Zimbabwe’s floral artists will be tasked to interpret each artwork in a floral arrangement!

An exciting #creativecollaboration of #floralart #paintings #flowerarrangements #plantgrowers #zimbabweangardeners #aloesociety

Posted in abstract art, Africa, africa, African flora, art, art collaboration, art exhibition, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Owl and the birds; and other Zimbabwean bird stories

Found Objects artist Johnson Zuze creates an owl -zizi

Birds Flight Wings and Feathers-

I have submitted an assemblage draped canvas artwork to the national gallery of Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe Visual Arts Awards annual show, titled “A Kite with a Broken String has all the Sky”

With a play on words between the kite one flies as a child and the yellow billed kite, a raptor in our Zimbabwean skies.

Pikicha gallery curator Kuda and myself in front of my art assemblage at the National gallery of Zimbabwe

here is a detail…

More of my “flight” and bird theme art will be featured in a forthcoming exhibition this year, with works by myself, my daughter Kelli Barker, make up artist, and Johnson Zuze, found objects artist -taking place at Pikicha Gallery in Harare

meanwhile here are some fascinating oral tradition bird stories from Zimbabwe…

Posted in africa, African child, african wildlife, animal rights, anti poaching, art, art collaboration, art exhibition, art gallery, bio diversity, birding, birds, body artist, books, community, community conservation, cultural beliefs, culture, drawing, eco-tourism, environment, flight, Harare, hornbill, hunting, Johnson Zuze, Lin Barrie Art, make up artist, myth, oral history, owls, paintings, predators, prey, re-cycled art, sculpture, spoken tradition, Totem, tradition, Trashart, virtual art exhibition, waterbirds, wilderness, wildlife, wildlife trade, wood sculpture, zimbabwe, Zimbabwe artists, Zimbabwean Artist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment