Zambia’s Mr Waterfalls

By: Nicky Dunnington-Jefferson Photos: Nicky Dunnington-Jefferson

Ifirst met Quentin Allen in the bar at Pioneer Safari Camp. He was drinking a cold Mosi beer, his characteristic bush hat clamped tightly on his head.

We were thrown together by Zambia-based Leslie Nevison of Mama Tembo Tours, who fine-tuned my three-week itinerary. I had accompanied Leslie on a recce to Gabon in 2014 after meeting her once. Now I was to set off again with a companion about whom I knew nothing except that he was an artist of considerable repute.

Quentin was more than an outstanding artist. He was a superb guide, a true bushman in every sense, with a remarkable knowledge of Zambia – particularly its waterfalls – and the flora and fauna. He was also an experienced driver. Together we explored northern Zambia, wondering at wildlife and rock art, he with his sketchbook and me with my camera. Together Mr. Waterfalls and I marvelled at the cascading cataracts of Kundalila Falls on the Kaombe River.

I needed to know more about my unfailingly cheerful, thoughtful, patient, amusing, modest and delightfully eccentric companion.

Quentin Allen was born in Bulawayo in 1957, the second of four brothers. His father worked for Rhodesian Railways and Quentin was only two when the family moved to Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia. They settled in Kitwe, on the Copperbelt, where the young Quentin grew up and started his education. He went on to school in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, followed by Wellingborough School in England. It was at Wellingborough that his art teacher noticed his artistic potential. “I always drew, and I used to make up stories and illustrate them,” he told me. School of Arts and Crafts in London, qualifying as a silversmith and gaining a degree in threedimensional design. He returned to Zambia in 1979 to work at Tengu Copper Products in Kitwe. Quentin’s family left Zambia in 1986 to live in the UK and he followed, only to return after six months to Zambia, where he has lived ever since.

He moved from Kitwe to Lusaka in 1990 to work with ZAL Holdings, followed by a partnership with Zambia Gemstones. As a silversmith he had worked on jewellery, spoons, bowls and silver sculptures on wood, but had become more involved in painting, favouring landscapes, using pastels, acrylics, watercolours and oils. Eventually he decided to devote himself full-time to painting, setting up a studio in his home and concentrating solely on brushwork, and holding exhibitions to showcase his bold, illuminative canvases.

This artist’s brush evokes the spirit of Zambia; some works are joyous with bright colours, others calm with the muted shades of dawn and dusk. You can almost hear the cry of a fish eagle, the cheep of a tiny bird, the trumpeting of an elephant or the thunderous roar of waterfalls as his subjects speak through his canvases.

Quentin’s work came to the attention of Ilse Mwanza, resulting in their co-authorship of two books, Guide to Little-Known Waterfalls of Zambia, Volumes I and II, published in 2010 and 2014. “Ilse is also a cataractophile,” he told me, and she has accompanied him on many of his waterfall expeditions.

In 2011, Quentin spent a year camping and hiking, exploring eastern Zambia’s Muchinga Escarpment. Often accompanied by Matthew Mandandi, they searched for more waterfalls to collect material for the second book. This book contains intriguing anecdotal accounts and information, illustrated with beautiful photographs and Quentin’s evocative sketches. “It was wonderful to watch the seasons changing, always seeing new things, sketching new features and exploring new areas,” he reflected.

I asked what inspired his love of the outdoors. He replied that his family spent many happy times camping and he inherited his consuming passion for waterfalls from his father. “I’ve never grown up,” he said. “With a childhood like that, who wants to?” I’m so glad he hasn’t. TL Z

Quentin in his studio, surrounded by his artwork.

In the Bangweulu Wetlands, the best way to view the birdlife and scenery is from a canoe.