"WISDOM" by Stephen Koury, 30"x48" limited edition canvas giclee'
How the Elephant painting was born---- It was my second summer in Africa, and I was working as a naturalist leading photo safaris. My vehicle had six american tourists and a south african driver, we were on a two track dirt road moving from our old camp to a new one and game viewing while we drove. As we rounded a corner this Big Beautiful Bull Elephant stepped out in front of us, startling him and surprising us! He immediately became larger, fanning his ears and kicking up dust, coming towards us, we immediately began backing up, the driver trying his best not to jackknife the small luggage trailer we were towing. As we backed down the road the Elephant continued to move towards us. I remember telling the people to sit tight and not panic and I photographed as we continued backwards, the vehicle lurched to a stop, I glanced at my rear view mirror and the trailer was sideways, we could go no further. On came the Elephant, it was pretty tense for a moment! He came to a stop at the very front of the vehicle, followed by a cloud of dust, somehow at this point that I felt we were alright! He seemed satisfied that we had backed off, as my eyes traveled from the tip of his trunk which as at ground level up to his eyes, I could tell he had calmed down! Looking in his eyes I felt a wisdom, a calmness instead of the rage that I expected. He shook his head one more time, emitting a huge cloud of dust and turned and was gone! Incredible!
"LIONS & THE LEOPARD"
by Stephen Koury
48"x24" limited edition canvas giclee'-
A family of lions investigate a wary leopard tortoise. The painting was inspired the first time I watched Lions and a Leopard Tortoise. I fully thought I was watching the tortoise's demise, but the lions could not get a good bite on the shell. They tried and tried to bite through the shell while the tortoise waited patiently for them to give up. As I watched I remember saying to myself the Leopard and the Lions, the painting was born. The color of the lions and the tortoise work very well together. In the piece the Male knows that the investigation will amount to nothing, while the cubs still hold some hope of getting into the shell.
"TWO KINGS"
by Stephen Koury
28"x15" limited edition canvas giclee'
Cape Buffalo are awe inspiring; they seem to be carved out of granite. They look you right in the eye, basically staring you down. They can be multi-colored depending on the mud color they have recently bathed in, they have never been domesticated, and they are truly Africa. I found the buffalo to be wonderful subjects and these two are older bachelor herd bulls. We followed them for two days watching the sparing and tests of strength, all with different light. This painting is the fourth buffalo piece and I think a few more are on the way!
framed $495
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"GOLD DUST"
by Stephen Koury
28"x18" limited edition canvas giclee'
This painting had to be painted! This was one of those moments that you hope you can recreate. We were watching a herd of Zebra at this waterhole while the Sun was working its way down. The Zebra are always a bit edgy (I wonder why?). They spooked and scattered while leaving the waterhole in a cloud of dust. We were preparing to leave and a Female Giraffe followed by a large Bull Giraffe walked into the scene, the sun was just right and the whole scene lit up, it was awesome!
framed $525
FRAMED OPTION