Dawn: African Lions. Scratchboard (engraving on Claybord Black) with acrylic ink, 12 x 9 in, 2007.
And here we are in colour and I’m quite glad I did colour it – I think it adds to the sense of early light and early life. I’ve decided against a background for this one. I like the lion’s profiles against the stark black. I won’t be sealing/varnishing this for several days because I prefer to set new works aside to “rest” for a while – it helps me come back to them with fresh eyes and make little corrections, etc. Invariably, if I rush things, I find stuff after I’ve sealed the work and by then it’s too late to do anything about it.
As I worked on the female I was struck by what an amazing musculature she must have lurking under that coat. It makes sense, as the females do “the lion’s share” of the hunting, that she would be strong. But I don’t think I’d ever really thought about how strong she must be: the environment is unforgiving, she must hunt, as well as bear and raise young. Not that the male gets a free ride: from the moment he attains a pride of his own he must be on constant alert for any outside threat to their territory. After all, they must have a home from which to hunt. I’ve only ever seen lions in zoos and look forward to the day when I can see them in on the African plains.
