"Grassland Sentinels" captures the beauty and quiet strength of the Angolan Giraffe, an animal we saw frequently during our unforgettable self-drive adventure through Botswana and Namibia. We often spotted them gracefully navigating the open grasslands. They have a distinct “pacing” gait where both legs on one side of their body move forward in unison. This gait makes them look so elegant and graceful as they move, despite their huge size.

It's heartening to know that these gentle giants are thriving, their numbers increasing in places like Etosha National Park, thanks to dedicated conservation efforts. This piece celebrates their quiet majesty and the success of these conservation initiatives.

In approaching this painting, I aimed for a softer, more painterly application of colour, similar to the atmospheric qualities achieved in pieces like "Stork, Botswana" and "Tassie”. My process began with an underpainting, a foundational step not just for mapping out the composition and establishing tonal values, but also for defining the brushwork that would carry through the entire piece. I experimented with hues like Burnt Sienna in the sky, and a combination of Raw Umber and Burnt Sienna for the land, carefully assessing their depth on the canvas. As my teacher, Liza Visagie, often emphasizes, a dynamic underpainting helps prevent the final landscape from appearing flat or lifeless.

For the giraffe bodies themselves, capturing their graceful movement and the volume of their form was key. I carefully considered the edges: creating harder, sharper, and darker lines where their form distinctly turned, while allowing for softer transitions in areas where the body gently rounded. Paint was applied thinner on these turning forms to enhance that sense of subtle dimensionality.

The sky, though it would be largely covered by multiple layers, was approached with a specific density in mind. I worked on the sky and giraffes simultaneously at times, allowing the sky's emerging colours to help in judging the hues of the giraffes themselves, maintaining soft edges where they met the background.

The grasses, as often happens, was the most challenging element! I built them up, varying brushstrokes to indicate texture and detail, moving beyond a flat tone to bring that foreground to life. This approach helped ensure the ground beneath these animals feels as dynamic as they do.

As I built up the giraffe patterns and colours, I would squint regularly, which helped simplify the complex shapes into larger, overall shapes. The patterns on the periphery and where the forms turned were painted with a more fluid, painterly approach, often using a wet-into-wet technique to blend seamlessly. For the rich stripes, colours like Yellow Ochre, Naples Yellow and Brilliant Yellow Pale were helpful. I hope these efforts convey the awe and reverence I feel for these extraordinary creatures and their vital role in the African wilderness.