Introducing: "Fight or Flight"
It's impossible to tell where one body begins and another ends in the frenzied feast. Maniacal giggling rises and falls from the maul. Hyenas. The vultures have completed their all-important task: The carcass has been expertly dissected, allowing access to all. A thankless task! Quickly bullied away by bigger baddies, they loom over the action on nearby perches, looking sullen and threatening (as vultures always do). Some bravely venture closer, hop-hopping towards the scrum. A few even make off with scraps, only for that, too, to be contested by like-minded brethren (with friends like these - pfft!).
One vulture edges ever closer, woolly neck hopefully extended... A hyena notices, turns slowly towards the unwelcome intruder. "Not on my watch", she mutters. A dramatic pause as their beady eyes lock. Suddenly, she lunges forward, painting the sky with earth and fire!
As one scavenger chooses to fight, another flees in the nick of time! A wholly perfect, absolutely mesmerising moment frozen in time! One second earlier, or one second later, and it wouldn't have been the same. This fabulously unique photo was captured by wildlife photographer, Clint Ralph.
"Fight or Flight" was challenging and joyful to paint in equal measure... It's all joyful to share some of the behind-the-scenes creation process with you here:
My specialty: The blurry selfie! At least there aren't dirty dishes in the background in this one... ;)
I usually try to finish small sections of a subject as I go (instead of laying down a base coat for the entire animal). This helps me to stay focussed on how it could look once everything is done instead of worrying about how odd something looks that is still in the dreaded "Ugly Phase". It also allows me to take a break from adding details (a super time-intensive and exhausting endeavour!) and switch to something simpler and faster (like adding washes of colour).
Although most of the "base coat" is down, the hyena isn't really close to being finished here. Lots and lots of layered colour and detail still to come... But, to protect my sanity, I decided to move on to the vulture, and bounce back-and-forth between the two subjects. After all, change is as good as a holiday!
Vulture underway, and lots of progress on the hyena, too. The darker shading and spots on its back legs are much more evident. Note the succulent flower to the bottom left of the pic -- it broke off of one of our plants outside, and served as my emotional support plant during this process - LOL! I always-always have a plant on my desk when I work/paint to welcome Mother Nature in! I was a bit short of space with this enormous piece so precariously perched on the edge of the kitchen table, so plopping this cutie in my paintbrush container was the perfect solution!
Isn't the progression of the vulture oh-so-satisfying in these side-by-side pics?! I love how the blues in the primary feathers make it feel light and almost translucent (as feathers should be!).
The absolute highlight of this piece for me: Sand splatter! I love the sense of movement that it creates, and the story it tells: As the hyena lurches, the downward-and-forward-pressure forces the soil to scrunch up, crack and splatter in all directions! Simultaneously, the vulture nimbly leaps out of reach, painting the space between the two creatures with a streak of dust!
The crop of this piece may not be everyone's cup of tea - the vulture cropped off on the right - but, it was this oddity that drew me to Clint's photo in the first place. It's unique and unexpected; not your average wildlife portrait! I like the feeling that in just a moment, the vulture will exit the scene altogether, leaving only the victor of this little scuffle on the page: the hyena.
This piece will soon be available in my online shop, along with only 20 limited edition, fine art prints:
