I have been fascinated with elephants since my first encounter with them when we used to see them on the seven hour car journey from Nairobi to Mombasa, where we went on beachside holidays.  They used to roam in the savannah, and very occasionally come onto the dirt-track road, and we would keep a respectful distance until they gently ambled away.  However, when we got too close, as occasionally we did when we were tempted to get a better look, they warned us off by flapping their ears, making them seem even bigger than they were.  As a child, they seemed ginormous to me.

I wanted to capture the expression of this mighty animal, sizing us up before letting us know who’s the boss!

I particularly loved painting those ears.  Did you know - big animals have trouble keeping cool in hot climates. The bigger the body mass, the more heat it stores, and elephants are the biggest land mammals on the planet. They will face into the wind and extend their ears to cool down. If there's no wind, they'll flap their ears to create air currents around them that carry away heat from their bodies.  How cool is that!