"What the . . ."
Oil 12x24
SOLD

It is British East Africa, just after World War One. While hunters sleep in camp, a drama is taking place under the cover of dark. Apparently just before sun up a pride of lions had moved into the area and had singled out one buffalo and menacingly surrounded it, gradually forcing the beast closer to camp. By daybreak the buffalo, now confused, had been pushed further towards one of the tents. In my painting a member of the hunting party, perhaps a photographer, relaxing on his bunk, and making notes in his journal, is shocked to see a cape buffalo staring back at him through the fly of the tent. Nervously he reaches for his double on the floor. The buffalo feeling trapped by the tent and the lions behind him, bolts for safety in the thick brush behind camp. An incident which could have turned nasty, went hardly noticed, nor remembered as the day progressed. Coincidentally, the hunters were there to ride buffalo – a daring and exciting sport. However, it was found not to be the best of hunting practices, and inevitably was unsuccessful. This would be the case for this hunting party. A herd of buffalo were eventually pursued on horseback for some distance before it all ended with the herd making their escape into thick cover. Perhaps the pursuit is the most rewarding part of hunting, anyway.

As an artist, who’s frequented Africa many times, I have experienced the unpredictable nature of cape buffalo and have seen them come dangerously close to camp when cornered by lion. It seemed fitting to use a younger version of myself as a model for this painting.