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In 2017 I travelled to Africa with a client as his personal tour guide for a photographic expedition. It was my client's first visit to Africa. As a result he commissioned me to paint several works for him after the trip. It was my first visit to Namibia and this was to be a massive tick off the bucket list for me!
Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park is in the southern part of the Namib desert. The gigantic red dunes in this vast harsh landscape took my breath away. While admiring the majestic dunes just as the sun was setting, an oryx (gemsbok) walked past and into the distance. It was perfect! I couldn't wait to do this painting and chose to use oil on stretched canvas.
The gemsbok, or South African Oryx (Oryx gazella) is a very impressive and large antelope standing at about 1.2m (3.9 feet) at the shoulder. A male gemsbok can weigh up to 240 kg (530lbs). It is native to arid regions such as the Kalahari Desert, where I spotted this beauty. The name gemsbok in English is derived from the Afrikaans word gemsbok.
