Always Aware

"I enjoy the challenge of painting the beautiful, elegant leopard. Good fortune during my travels has given me the privilege of observing these wild, elusive cats many times in various settings and behaviors. Several paintings, including "Always Aware," are inspired by direct and indirect leopard encounters.

One of the most incredible places I have ever witnessed is the remote, pristine rainforest around Mahale, Tanzania. Our castaway-style camp sits on the white sandy beach of Lake Tanganyika, the longest lake in Africa. At our semi-open two-story thatched-roofed banda (hut) entrance, the camp staff places a large water basin to wash off the sand from bare feet. One morning at first light, we noticed large cat tracks leading up to the water basin in the sand. We conclude the paw prints must be a leopard and ask our guide. "Yes, leopard tracks," the guide confirms.

Imagine a leopard drinking from the basin, only yards away from where we were sleeping. Then imagine a leopard slipping silently, unseen, across a white sand beach, returning to the verdant jungle under a starry night sky.