Dreaming of Pink Flamingos

Last night, I had a dream . . . the continuation of a magic childhood memory . . . when I roamed through the Namib Desert all by myself for hours, fearless and confident on my beautiful white Arab mare and with my wolf hound at my side.

“Last Night’s Dream” by Bianca Gubalke

Sometimes thick mist would roll in from the Atlantic Ocean and let the world disappear as I galopped along the barren valleys, Tora’s waving mane in my face, her fragrance mixing with that unique salty taste of fog that seemed to move through everything so silently … absorbing even the sound of the thundering hooves …  and the sensuous forms and snaking curves of the dunes disappearing . . .

At times we stopped and listened into the directionless world.

Tora’s ears would play … then she would snort gently at the dog and pull impatiently at the reins to move on and explore what was behind the next sanddune.

It was on a day like that when… suddenly… as we moved up through the thick sand of a dune and got to its crest to look over it to the other side … the sky opened miraculously and rays of blinding light shone across the valley with the sea at the far distance.

But there was something that struck me instantly, that I had never seen before… was it a fatamorgana? It looked like a lake… a pink lake … in the middle of the desert.  it had to be a hallucination… but what if not…?

Slowly, we slipped down the dune and continued towards ‘it’. Clearly, Tora was just as intrigued as I was.

Then I heard it: the noise! It was a loud symphony of seabirds – pelicans, flamingos, seagulls. . . and our presence didn’t bother them… they carried on with their feasting, dancing and squatting. . .  enjoying paradise.

“Flamingo Magic” by Bianca Gubalke

I don’t know how long we watched them, lost in the blinding reflection of the sun in the shallow waters… incredibly beautiful pink flamingos sailing across or dipping their heads deep down to feed on what their long graceful legs were uncovering in rhythmic movements.

Then, suddenly, for some unknown reason they all scattered up like a cloud, drawing a wide screaming circle in the air… Tora and the dog got nervous and then I heard it too:  the reverberating sound of a low-flying military plane somewhere beyond the endless expanse of the desert… but it had passed already… and the flamingos were landing in the glittering waters …

Pink Flamingo Paradise

When I came back 3 days later the lake had disappeared. But not its Magic! The Magic continued through my fantasy and dreams …

“Flamingo Magic” by Bianca Gubalke

Pink Flamingo Pictures and Graphics

From vision to reality… the above are the first results from working with my new BAMBOO tablet and pen… and it does need some serious adaptation and the right settings… oufff!

Digital Art - as any Art – is 99% perspiration and 1 % inspiration… but I think it’s the inner world, our dreams and fantasies that pull us through and over the hurdles… as we are driven to realize our Dreams… at least in form of digital pictures…  communicating what moved us and what – hopefully – touched YOU!

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