About Cape Buffalos
The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. Syncerus caffer caffer, the Cape buffalo, is the typical subspecies, and the largest one, found in Southern and East Africa. S. c. nanus (the forest buffalo) is the smallest subspecies, common in forest areas of Central and West Africa, while S. c. brachyceros is in West Africa and S. c. aequinoctialis is in the savannas of East Africa.
The adult African buffalo’s horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head referred to as a “boss”. It is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous animals on the African continent, and according to some estimates, it gores, tramples, and kills over 200 people every year.
Adult African buffaloes have few non-human predators aside from lions and large crocodiles. As a member of the big five game, the Cape buffalo is a sought-after trophy in hunting.
About Cape Buffalos at Sweetwaters
There are a few herds of Cape buffalo at Ol Pejeta’s Sweetwaters safari park, and spread across the Ol Pejeta conservancy area.
Range Map of the Cape Buffalo and other African Buffalo species.
About the painting:
I have always been impressed by the phlegmatic, suspicious expressions on the cape buffalo I have encountered. They radiate menace and a deep distrust.
I started with a photo I took in 2017 at Sweetwaters safari park in Nanyuki, Kenya, in which my subject looked exceptionally dubious about being photographed. I then swapped out a more impressive set of horns from a photo by Vicki Jaron, which I found on Getty Images. Vicki kindly allowed me to use her image for reference. I stripped out the background and replaced it with one of my signature panels in a mustard orange blend.
The painting made extensive use of heavy glazing techniques and I used a new paper from Legion, called Legion Special Handmade, in 300lb rough, which has superlative charging and blending properties, keeps paint damp for longer than most and is spectacular for lifting. I used lifting techniques to add highlights to all of the wrinkles and creases around the eyes and on the horns.
See the step-by-step process here
To see a high resolution image of the artwork check out my GALLERY section.
