Africa. With her abundant diversity of wildlife inherited from years long gone - yet preserved for the artist's palette. An inspiration to capture the unpredictable ways of the wild.

Steven Booysen was born in 1954 in the Soutpansberg district in the Northern Province of South Africa. He spent his early years in a state forest called Timbadola-Entabeni in the Soutpansberg Mountains.

It was there that his grandfather and mentor taught him that the solution to all problems lie in nature - "...go through life with open eyes and an open mind and heart. Learn from the small things in nature." His grandfather died at the age of 98 - "the most peaceful man I have ever known."

During 1987, equipped with only a rucksack and fishing rod, Steven walked up the west coast of South Africa. The journey took almost four months to complete.

He later undertook some work for a London-based company in Kenya and Tanzania, which opened up many opportunities to visit the Serengeti and Masai Mara game reserves.

He spent all his spare time in these magnificent wild places. During these times he obtained the inspiration that now shines through in his unique works of art.

"Piro" the Greek word for fire combined with "graphics" gives us pyrographics - the fire from Africa, its fauna and its flora.

Steven chose to do pyrography because of the challenge it poses. He feels that it is the responsibility of artists from Africa to keep this fire burning.

To bring three-dimensional animals to life on leather with a soldering iron and only about twenty shades is extremely challenging. Furthermore, one cannot afford to make a mistake! With a paintbrush and oils or acrylics, the artist can correct errors. In pyrography, mistakes have to be thrown away!

Steven never copies an existing work of art. Each piece is unique. He produces only a limited number of works, with special attention to quality, detail and composition. To him, the uniqueness of each piece is far more important than producing large quantities.

Furthermore, the unusual, individualised mountings for his artwork, using tanned skins and indigenous African wood frames each carefully designed by himself, make his pieces even more valuable.

The art pieces shown here grace the rooms of art collectors around the world. Pieces that are for sale are shown below, but availability will be confirmed upon enquiry as the pieces are open to sale at any time. All pieces are registered, named and numbered.