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“Cheetahs are enigmatic and perhaps the most intriguing
of all the big cats to me,” says artist Simon Combes of
the subject of First Light. “My encounters with cheetahs
have been like meeting a person who has poise, elegance, class,
fleeting moments of warmth and yet tantalizingly aloof. The challenge
of painting cheetahs is two-fold: firstly, the chest is so pronounced
in comparison to the head that in certain positions the animal
can look positively grotesque. Secondly, I am often stumped at
portraying the cat’s mood … what is it thinking behind
that mask of haughty distain? So serious, so intent, so reserved,
does this animal ever relax and have fun?
This painting was as much an indulgence in design as it was
an attempt to capture that magical, early-morning, golden mistiness
surrounding the surreal silhouettes of distant arcadia trees.
I loved the elegant, s-shaped line from the cheetah’s nose
to the tip of its tail.” |