Giraffe Family

This painting was inspired by the three giraffes at the Bongani Mabaso Eco Park in Vaal Park. It was the park’s first successful giraffe birth, and the baby, the small giraffe in the middle of the painting, has drawn many visitors to the park.

The tall adult stands in the foreground, looking straight out at the viewer as if keeping watch over the family, while the youngster and the second adult stand a little further back. Behind them runs a band of dark green trees under a wide, bright blue sky. For the grassland I used short, energetic strokes of gold, ochre and olive, with splashes of red and orange, to capture the texture of the long grass and the warm colours of the veld.

This is definitely my favourite painting. It took me two days to paint, and I still smile every time I look at the little one in the middle.