In February 2023, Jeremy visited Jacks Camp on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, to paint the vast flocks of flamingos that breed there.

After an hour’s flight in a small two-seater helicopter a golden pink haze could be seen in the distance. As they flew closer, thousands upon thousands of pink birds, as far as the eye can see, could be seen. A truly spectacular sight.

The new Kalahari collection of flamingo paintings was thus born, some of which have been elevated by gold leaf in a comment on their rarity and beauty.

“Flamingos give you infinite possibilities for composition. With flamingos, when I start painting, I don’t know what I’m going to achieve: I just go for it. I always find something fun, colourful and uplifting. It’s a different way from how I usually work, which is great because it stops me from getting stagnant.

I’ve had a lot of fun giving titles to my flamingo paintings! I wanted to put the birds into urban scenarios – like Girls Get in for Free, was an idea of a gaggle of girls on a hen night, dancing and having a great time! Groups of birds become abstracted from a distance, so I can concentrate on colour and shape rather than detail.

There’s also a rhythmical quality to them – the beating of their wings in flight, the way they stand. One client likened them to musical notes. There is indeed a musical quality and that’s why recently I’ve been giving the paintings musically related titles like ‘Sweet Dreams are made of These,’ to conjure up feelings of happiness.”

Flamingos have become a visual signature for artist Jeremy Houghton – bright and uplifting, the paintings are intentionally joyful.