This is almost an abstract painting. I did see and photograph a line of oryx crossing a dirt track as they came up from the river in Samburu National Park, Kenya, but the land wasn't as barren as this. It was dry and hot and the ground shimmered in the heat and each day I returned to my tent, I was thirsty and dehydrated. The complete exclusion of any vegetation in the painting wasn't a conscious decision, but interestingly, this area almost became a desert over the next few months until at last the rain came.