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Simon Combes: 1930-2004 |
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| The world of Wildlife art has lost a great talent.
Internationally known artist, Simon Combes passed away on Sunday, December 12, 2004 near
his home in Nakuru, Kenya in Africa. Born in England in 1940, Combes moved at age six to a farm in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. He attended the Duke of York School in Nairobi. Combes lived many lives over 64 years. He managed a 2,000 acre farm in Kenya; attended the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England; commanded Kenya’s parachute force; fought in a guerilla war against Somalia; and was assigned to train Uganda’s 4th KAR, which included the now-infamous Idi Amin– all of this before he dedicated himself full-time to painting. As an artist and adventurer, Combes called to mind Indiana Jones. He often said one of his life’s aims was “to gather no moss.” He was once lost in a blizzard while crossing the Altai Mountains in Mongolia, air-lifted into the jungles of Venezuela, and sketched Bengal tigers in India from a howdah atop a swaying elephant. As a photographic safari guide in Africa, Simon searched for inspirations for his next painting. His art portrayed the grace, power and the mystery of the wild with an exacting technique of capturing detail. He became best known for his stunning images of the landscapes and wildlife of his beloved Africa. He won many fine art awards and his paintings are in collections around the globe. The Greenwich Workshop, Inc. has published him in limited edition prints and canvases since 1979, and published two books on his paintings. Combes was not only a man of the arts, but an avid conservationist as well. He was recently appointed Kenya representative and Project Director for the Rhino Rescue Trust. He sat on the boards of several wildlife conservation organizations and raised, through his art, many thousands of dollars for their causes. Please join us in extending our deepest sympathies to his family. We have lost a great friend and artist. |
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