St. Francis/Addax Painting

First came this...

I've been working small lately so I wanted to work large.  I want to make big movements using big brushes.  So I ripped off a 5 ft. by 5 ft. square piece of canvas from the roll that's been collecting dust in the corner and tacked it to the wall.  Then I went to sleep.

Next came the idea.  Ideas need visual references (in my case anyway).  I took the Addax pic several months ago during a photo recon mission at Cabella's.  I knew I wanted to include the image in a painting but didn't know how or when.  The time has come.

The image itself I found compelling but as I researched the Addax I became intrigued with it's plight.  The Addax is a desert-dwelling antelope indigenous to Africa.  They are listed as critically endangered with less than 300 existing in the wild.  BUT...there are over an estimated 2,000 Addax on private ranches in the U.S.  These animals can mostly be found on conservation hunting ranches in Texas and other southern states.  From my understanding, no more than 10% of the herd can be hunted annually.

conservation:  prevention of injury, decay, waste, or loss.
hunting:  to chase or search for game or other wild animals for the purpose of catching or killing.

Uhhhhhh....BUT...

extinct: no longer in existence.

I've got to think about this one......

Let's move on to the next reference pic shall we?  St. Francis of Assasi, the patron saint of animals and ecology - I simply wanted him in the painting.

day one

day two