David Shepherd

Shepherd's The Bull Elephant portrays the great animal halted, dust billowing behind him, his deep-set onyx eyes directed toward the viewer as he stands on a patch of sun-baked earth among dry, scrub bushes, against a hazy blue sky.   This powerful elephant "portrait" is a relatively early work for Shepherd, completed nine years after the British Royal Air Force invited him to Kenya to paint African wildlife.  As Shepherd explained, the opportunity to observe “the beauty and tranquility… of wildlife in its natural environment" had a profound creative effect. "The very enormity of it all brings man down to size…. [and] that is why I so vividly remember that first occasion when I saw those elephants at Amboseli” (David Shepherd: An Artist in Conservation, Devon, 1992, p. 9).  From these early works through today, Shepherd continues to develop methods to study and visualize the unique power and spirit of the mighty elephant. Because canvases, easels and oil paints are often ruined by tumultuous weather, rough transit, or uncooperative animal models, Shepherd has instead shot hundreds of photographs of wildlife and their environment. This allowed for detailed and realistic studies of animal musculature, skin texture, and movement, while also providing the artist time to reflect on the emotional response inspired by these encounters. Indeed, the bull elephant's powerful stance and imposing aura are informed by Shepherd's early expeditions to Africa where, as he explains, he found himself  “standing, walking, and laughing within a few feet of these magnificent animals…On one occasion, I was just five feet away from a huge bull and he accidentally knocked me with his trunk---it winded me momentarily, because a blow from the trunk of an elephant is no joke! But he meant me no harm”  (David Shepherd, p. 10).  The composition’s arid and open landscape suggests the respect the animals must have for their environment.  Without lush vegetation or ready water, elephants wisely ration the sparsely available grasses and use their powerful trunks to dig for deeply buried water.  In the same spirit, Shepherd has gained world renown for his conservationist efforts.  Since its creation, the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) has given valuable grants to save critically endangered animals in their wild habitat and to benefit the local people who share their environment.