The Evolution of an Elephant Painting

Elephants are incredibly quiet. For all their size and bulk, they move almost soundlessly through the landscape. At our Safari Camp in Tanzania we had a bull elephant who liked to hang around the camp. I could be sitting on the porch, look away for a moment, and suddenly, soundlessly, he was there.

This painting that I did of my quiet elephant seemed to appear just as suddenly. I began with a simple sketch and he emerged, softly moving through the landscape. I thought you might like to see the stages in his evolution.