I am working on this acrylic of two Impala rams sparring next to the Crocodile River that runs through the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The one is noticeably smaller, which tells you that he is just checking out the competition. It's not a serious affair. I'm looking forward to completing this painting. As soon as it's done it will go on the "for sale" page. I've included the sketches for the painting just for interest sake.
We rented a lovely "lake house" on 6 acres on banks of the Alabama River when we lived in the US. I often found myself stopping at a particular place on a small rise where trees had been clear cut. Only later did I figure out why. Coming from South Africa where you could see the horizon most of the time, it took some getting used to living without seeing where the sky meets the earth. Whenever I stopped on that hill, I felt like I could breathe. White Tail hunting is huge in that part of Alabama. This painting depicts a buck about 200 meters from our house who has heard the first shot of the first day of hunting season and is about to disappear into the shadows
I started this painting shortly after we arrived in the US 16 years ago. It's a big painting so I put it away for a while intending to go back to it. Well... 16 years later I've picked up where I left off. One of the reasons I like painting on board is that I can crop a painting at any point along the way. This painting will go from its current 48"x32" to 36"x24" I am very glad I took the trouble to cart it all the way to Canada. Maybe this bear feels slightly more at home here.
We do not live far from K-Country. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth. This is a small acrylic painting 9"x12" but it's got a nice feel about it. I've always had multiple paintings going at the same time. Partly this is so because I am easily bored and partly because I know that when I stay too long on one painting I lose objectivity. I have a small rack on my wall where I put these half finished paintings so that I can glance at them at any time. It's amazing what you see when you have not looked at something for a while.
This is a 12"x20" plein air painting, oil over acrylic on board. It is of the Big Hill Springs Creek as it flows through the historic Cochrane Ranch. Behind me on the hill is the Man of Vision. The Rockies are off to the right and out of sight. When you walk around the ranch you can easily imagine the original operation with its thousands of head of cattle and cowboys with their horses.
Here I am working on one of those paintings I gave to a good friend who came with me on a mission trip to South Africa and Mozambique. I've also included the drawings.
