To see a leopard up close in the wild is always incredibly exciting; there is an explosive energy about them, so that even when they are relaxing you feel as though something dramatic could happen at any moment. It’s easy to imagine that that extravagant black and gold coat would stand out in the bush but it doesn’t, they seem to be able to appear and disappear right in front of your eyes. And of all the predators, the nighttime really belongs to the leopard. I used to live in the Matobo Hills in Matabeleland, southern Zimbabwe; it’s an area of spectacular granite outcrops and is supposedly home to a very high concentration of leopards, although I only saw them on a few occasions. But sometimes in the morning I would find pug marks in the sand on the pathway close to my house and at night, I would hear that deep, rasping ‘sawing wood’ call of a leopard not far away and even though I was safely tucked up in bed, it always made my blood run cold. I could imagine a big male leopard standing on the tumbled rocks behind my studio, busy with the patrol of his domain, calling into the darkness and daring anyone to contest his nighttime supremacy.

This signed, limited edition Fine Art Print from an original oils on canvas painting is printed on 425 GSM Fine Art Archival Canvas and delivered rolled in a tube, ready for stretching or framing. Free worldwide courier delivery.

Limited Edition of 50 Fine Art Prints.