Cheetah Profile

The cheetah is an animal of the wide open plains. That is where his prey, the antelope, lives, and that is where he can see vast distances. Although he has no serious enemies, he likes to watch the herds for vulnerable animals and to generally keep in touch with his surroundings.

All cats have a natural grace, but the cheetah has sacrificed most of the more elegant proportions of some of his cousins. He is put together differently in the interest of speed. As the fastest of all land creatures, he has been clocked at 60-70 miles per hour. To accomplish this, he has very long legs, a long and flexible spine, high shoulders and non-retractable claws.

This painting is in a sense a study of those features. I chose to leave the background white in order to more clearly show them. Although the cheetah is standing still, I played up the dynamic tension in his bones and muscles, starting with the tip of the tail and moving up in a streamlined flow to the intense head. I especially like the expression in a cheetah's face. It is serious but not fierce. His gaze slices across several miles of plains.

Around him is the habitat of his low lookout hill. As in all of my paintings, I like to think that a botanist could identify the species of plants. The physics and chemistry of the bare patches of ground are typical of the mounds in an African alkaline plain. Another added touch is the droppings of Grant's gazelle which suggests the presence of one of his favourite prey animals and echoes the cheetah's own spots.