“I do enjoy attempting to make something completely ludicrous appear perfectly feasible.

Here is another gift, given to me by a Zimbabwean friend.

I had never seen, or even heard of this book before, and all I can say is that I am so pleased to have its happy take on life lying on the table beside me.

It is a coffee table size book full of paintings by Michael J Allard. Each painting has a full page to itself, with a write up on the opposite page. This normally gives a little information on how and why each painting came to be, as well as some details about the wild animals depicted.

The painting ‘Rhino Hoopla’, shows three boys crouched behind a bush, attempting to throw a hoop over the horn of the wild rhino standing obligingly still while they try. The idea is ridiculous, but the scene is painted so vividly with a storm drowning the hills behind, that you almost believe it.

There is also a painting of two boys being towed on a blanket behind a warthog, with a flock of African sacred Ibis flying above them. The title of that painting is ‘Drag Racing – Africa Style’. On the opposite page there is description of how the painting came to be which begins with the quotation by the artist: “I do enjoy attempting to make something completely ludicrous appear perfectly feasible.”

Another image is of an elephant shaking his head, scattering baboons in every direction as it does so.

There are so many images that are such a pleasure to look at again and again. Nearly every one depicts a cheery mix up of the people and wild animals the artist knew in Africa – Zimbabwe in particular I think, as that was where Michael Allard spent his childhood and schooldays, and it was the country he returned to in 1980 after over a decade of travel and study in other lands.

There is more information about the artist in the forward to the book, but I know nothing more than that. I’ll try to find out a little more if I can.

If you’re interested, the paintings in the book have been collected together by Kerry Hastings-Spital (kerryhastingsspital@gmail.com).

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023