Preoccupied Pair

Preoccupied Pair was based on a field sketch I created while watching a mating pair of lions in Botswana. The pair were in long grass, moving every few minutes. In my studio painting I made the grass much longer and used a wash of color in the distance to highlight the lion's mane. I enjoy painting negative spaces and the long grass enable me to do just this, with a subdued palette of purple-greys. In my paintings I ensure that my animals are behaving naturally, unaware of the viewer, as seen in Preoccupied Pair.