Mellissa Bushby Illustration

Welcome, friend.

What I portray here is an exclusive range of art portraits, which I hope will show my deep love and reverence for the natural world. All of my artwork is rendered in pen and ink, either in striking black or with the addition of colour ink-washes. Each drawing is done by hand, no computer imagery or colour-manipulation is used, bar cleaning up the odd stray speck of colour which has wandered from a brushstroke. Photographs are used as reference material when real life is just not possible.

I have tried to depict, as accurately as possible, the plants, animals, birds and reptiles indigenous to South Africa, always attempting to capture the unique character of the animal portrayed, whether it’s the plodding gait of a majestic Ground Hornbill, the sheepishness of a Hyena, the supple ripple of the powerful Leopard or the mischievous glint in the eye of the sleek Cape Clawless Otter. And not to forget the sad-eyed Bush babies. If you are quiet, you can sometimes hear them, late at night, on the mountainside, calling out with their haunting and mournful cry.

I am an avid conservationist, and hope that my portrayal of nature will inspire appreciation and delight in the natural world, because we will only treasure and care for that which we understand and know, and in so doing, keep it from harm.

As Bertrand Russell so rightly said: ‘Fear is the main source of superstition and cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom’.

Prints are done on A4 or A3 200 gsm high quality acid-free, archival paper.

To purchase or commission a print or original work, please email me at:

mellissa@vanillastone.co.za or mellissabushby@gmail.com

Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses it’s purity and in extreme cold becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigours of the mind.

Leonardo da Vinci