Witness

The Amur leopard is one of the rarest big cats on the planet, with only an estimated 100 to 130 individuals remaining in the wild. Amur leopards have large, widely spaced rosettes (the dark, open-center spots) that are thicker and more solid than those of other leopard subspecies. Because they live in the colder, temperate forests of the Russian Far East and northern China, their coats are dense and slightly lighter in color, which matches the paler, earthy tones the artist used for the cat's face and neck.

"Witness" utilizes a bold, sculptural impasto technique to capture the leopard's elusive presence. The composition is defined by the heavy, three-dimensional application of deep green pigments that form a dense, tactile veil of foliage. The cat's piercing amber eyes are locked on its target, creating a powerful, arresting focal point amidst the surrounding abstraction of the leaves. The work conveys both the natural stealth of the apex predator and the fragile, hidden existence of one of the world's rarest felines.

Oil paint on canvas board, 10 × 8 inches

$750