Waterhole Elephants

'Waterhole' 18”x 24” oil on linen

African elephant painting
Original oil painting for sale from artist $600.

The playful antics of this baby African elephant I observed at a zoo amused me. He was having so much fun rolling and playing in the mud I wanted to capture the moment. I placed his mother, who was drinking out of a small puddle, closer to him for the painting. For the background, I chose a dense backdrop of African foliage.

One of my challenges in this painting was making sure the dirty brown baby elephant looked muddy. I believe I have accomplished this successfully. I also like the colors of their muddy pool.