Amur Leopard painting

Just off the easel, this painting of an Amur leopard mum and cub on a trail through the snow has taken longer than normal to complete. My dear old cat Rueben was reaching the end of his life throughout the time I conceived and painted this image. In fact he died before I could finish it and for weeks I just couldn't go near it. I took a break to work through the grief knowing anything I did with paint right then would be a disaster. Instead I did a photobook to celebrate the wonderful lives of three of my dear companion cats Rueben Sasha and Mister who have all gone. What a space they have left. Only last week I was able to finish this artwork and feel reasonably satisfied that I achieved what I set to in this painting. The Amur leopard is absolutely my favourite of all the big cats and what a tragedy it is that there could only be 30 - 50 in the wild. I would love to see them in the 'flesh' and hope that the next visit to the UK may give me the opportunity to see them in captivity, what a thrill.

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