Game of Lions, 2014
oil on belgian linen
50 x 75 x 1.5 in
(127h x 190.5w x 3.81d cm)
SOLD
Artists for Conservation, "Game of Lions", Best in Show Award, Vancouver, B.C., 2015
Deep in the heart of every lion lives an ancient hatred for hyenas, never missing an opportunity to beguile their nemesis. For millennia this turmoil has reached far beyond the competition for food. It is a war between eternal enemies. These hidden battlefields remind us of a time when our own nights were filled with bloody darkness…
The composition is what makes this painting work. The concept was to create a bull’s-eye effect, centered on the male lions running into the pack, and sparking a centrifuge of energy erupting all around them, while the vultures, marabou storks, hyenas and jackal escape their wrath. Lions are a subject I have painting many times before but this will remain as one of my favorite lion paintings yet.
