'Intensity'

Sold


Like all cats, lions are models of concentration when they are stalking. I watched my cat Spencer behaving just like this the other day when he was trying to catch a Bank Vole! They gaze intently at their prey, never looking away, whilst taking infinite care not make a rustle with their paws.

Lionesses usually hunt at dusk apparently, and this young lady was stalking Wildebeest in the gloom on the Masai Mara. There had been a fire so she was ghostly pale against the blackened grassland.

Alpacas

To buy

What strange animals Alpacas are. There's something 'sheepish' about them but they mew to each other and are as nervous as rabbits. They are, of course, camelids from South America and are much valued for their super-fine wool.

Every year an Alpaca Show is held near to us at Purston Manor, and breeders from all over the country bring their animals to sell and swap. This has become a permanent fixture in our calendar.

They are remarkably variable in colour, from almost pure white to a deep chocolate brown, but most seem to be a rich cream colour.

As timid as mice, they don't like being petted, but can be trained quite easily on a halter. They look like recently domesticated creatures to me, always gazing at the horizon as if searching for the gravelly wastes of the High Andes!

I will be painting Alpacas a lot more I think.