The art of
Robert Louis Caldwell
Robert Louis Caldwell
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"Kutokua Na Hatia (Columbus Monkey)"Graphite Drawing on #300 Arches watercolor paper
15 x 6 in SOLD!
Private Collector Selected for
53rd Annual Art and the Animal Society of Animal Artists Bennington Center for the Arts Bennington, Vermont Selected for Art of the Animal Kingdom XX Bennington Center for the Arts Bennington, Vermont This drawing will is featured in Robert’s instructional book “Draw Realistic Animals: Wildlife, Pets & More,” published by North Light Books in June 2014. |
In Swahili, “kutokua na hatia” roughly translates to “innocence/free of guilt.”
I spent the last day of my African adventure in Arusha National Park, which boasts many different animals than those I observed in the earlier part of my trip in Tarangire. The park’s habitat is almost jungle-like. I entered the park knowing that it served as home to black-and-white colobus monkeys, and I will admit I was really hoping that I would have the chance to see them.
Arusha National Park lies on the side of Mount Meru, an active volcano. As we made our way up the edge of the crater wall, we could see Mount Kilimanjaro through the tree canopy. As we came around a bend on the path, we spotted a grouping of colobus monkeys. The dense trees made it tricky to capture reference material. It wasn’t until we were coming back down from the top of the road that I saw a glimpse of white. My guide, Jeremy, very excitedly turned to me and said something in Swahili and pointed up at the monkeys. Even though I had been in the country for more than a week at this point and I felt like I was getting a grasp on the language, I had no idea what he said but I looked up and saw this little innocent face looking down at us. Baby colobus monkeys, I learned, are born with pure white fur but don't stay that way for long so I was extremely fortunate to have seen this little guy.
I spent the last day of my African adventure in Arusha National Park, which boasts many different animals than those I observed in the earlier part of my trip in Tarangire. The park’s habitat is almost jungle-like. I entered the park knowing that it served as home to black-and-white colobus monkeys, and I will admit I was really hoping that I would have the chance to see them.
Arusha National Park lies on the side of Mount Meru, an active volcano. As we made our way up the edge of the crater wall, we could see Mount Kilimanjaro through the tree canopy. As we came around a bend on the path, we spotted a grouping of colobus monkeys. The dense trees made it tricky to capture reference material. It wasn’t until we were coming back down from the top of the road that I saw a glimpse of white. My guide, Jeremy, very excitedly turned to me and said something in Swahili and pointed up at the monkeys. Even though I had been in the country for more than a week at this point and I felt like I was getting a grasp on the language, I had no idea what he said but I looked up and saw this little innocent face looking down at us. Baby colobus monkeys, I learned, are born with pure white fur but don't stay that way for long so I was extremely fortunate to have seen this little guy.