' Without a doubt, Kenya’s main wildlife attraction is the spectacular migration of wildebeest and zebra that crosses over the border from Tanzania in mid July. This huge gathering of animals is one of the world’s natural wonders. In fact, before the 1970s the migration did not cross from Tanzania into Kenya. Instead, the Mara ecosystem only had its own local mini-migration of wildebeest, known as the Loita migration. This population of wildebeest has now all but disappeared due to bush meat hunting, encroachment by farmers, and an increased human population in the group ranches surrounding the Mara Reserve.
Every year my wife and I travel to the Mara in August, usually the peak of the migration, and camp there for a month under a dense stand of riverine forest next to the river. This camp site is located 20 kilometers north of the main migration crossing points on the Mara river. Because of the crowds of vehicles that congregate at those places I avoid them completely. As luck would have it, the best crossing I have ever witnessed happened right where I was camped in 2003. Sodden wildebeest stampeded past our tents and vehicle! This spectacular event went on and on and on! For several hours the animals behaved in a confused manner, crossing, and then re-crossing back to the other side. Of course what made it really special was that we had it exclusively to ourselves. Because of this I maxed out on ideas and material for paintings. It was one of those unique opportunities that comes once in a lifetime! As a result of this lucky break I had the material and inspiration for several crossing paintings of which this was the first.
To see a video documentary of this painting and how it came about click HERE' .'

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