AFRICAN GAME

The Cape buffalo is one of Coheleach's favorite subjects, both to hunt and to paint. He was putting the finishing touches on this charging buffalo when African professional hunter Fred Bartlett walked up behind and said, "You just can't paint a Cape buffalo better than that." "Coming from a man who knows, it was the supreme compliment. This is a big buffalo, not really too old but in his prime. His horns are good - the classic Cape buffalo shape. The background is Botswana, where the bush is very light and as a result, the buffalo do not become badly rubbed. This buffalo has more hair than you would see on a buffalo from East Africa." As he did in his painting of the elephant in 'Charging Elephant', Coheleach uses the position of the animal's body to denote speed. His mass is so far over to the side that only inertia of travel is keeping him on his feet. " It is one of those things that you paint instinctively, and as a result, people see a lot more action in it than they otherwise might."