I took the photograph that provided the reference for this painting at the Kanondo waterhole in the Sikumi Forest, on the edge of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Kanondo is a large waterhole and during the dry months the water supply is supplemented by a borehole which pumps fresh water into a small trough adjacent to the pan. Even when surface water is abundant, elephants will always look for the freshest, cleanest source and at Kanondo there was a constant jostle at the outlet pipe from which the borehole water flowed. When a herd arrived it was inevitably the bulls who forced their way to the front, muscling everyone else out of the way. After that it was the senior, most dominant cows and their young calves and finally, when everyone else was done, the immature bulls were allowed in. I took the photo of these three youngsters when they eventually got their turn at the trough. The rest of the herd had finished drinking and were already disappearing into the surrounding forest but these three were not going to miss out on the fresh water. They had already been drinking from the pan and could not possibly have still been thirsty but that wasn’t going to stop them; they slurped up the water, determined not to let a drop go to waste.

This 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.