![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/12\/StepintoAfricaB_92151.jpg\")
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“Art was a really amazing way to keep myself focused,” she said.<\/p>\n
“After I had COVID in 2022 I never really recovered. I was initially told I’d developed long COVID, and after about 18 months I was diagnosed with a heart condition associated with COVID and also an autoimmune condition called psoriatic arthritis.<\/p>\n
“I am able to manage it with medication and it’s now really about managing my energy levels, which does impact my ability to travel.”<\/p>\n
Step into Africa features a series of acrylic paintings on canvas, all of which Frith completed over the course of 18 months with each piece depicting an African animal.<\/p>\n
“I started off with the two lions because I’ve always loved lions,” Frith said.<\/p>\n
Meerkats, flamingos, a baby giraffe, a cheetah, a hippo and elephants are all among the subjects, and Frith has aimed to capture and celebrate something of each animal’s personality.<\/p>\n
The works went on display last week and will remain on show through to 17 January at Unit 4\/403 Warrenheip Street, Buninyong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RAISED hearing her parents’ stories of their African travels, Ballarat artist Louise Frith long harboured a hankering to get there herself. However, as a young adult in 2022, Frith developed complications after contracting COVID-19 and wasn’t well placed to fulfil her ambition. Instead she turned her artistic abilities to painting the African animals of her […]<\/p>\n