Painted Wolves of Africa (Lycaon Pictus)

Oil on gallery canvas.

40x30x1.50"

I had set out to find an image of a regular wolf to paint; I came across the African Painted Wolf instead. I was fascinated by their patterned coats and the way these wild wolves moved. Their wanton manner and primitive hunting instinct closely resembled that of my own canine companion; I felt an affinity with their lack of predictability and untamed nature–malicious and sort of hideous and raw–that I set in contrast to rhythmic backbeats and beautiful, ephemeral visual tints and tones.