And there it stood, high and majestically at the top of a mountain like a fortress, in The Kruger National Park, South Africa.

The day was coming to an end:

The day felt long and we were feeling tired. That made us become listless, and there didn’t seem like we were going to see any more animals…

When suddenly, we came across this glorious autumn scene on our left!

Pulling in the car to the side of the road, we stopped to soak in its serene beauty.

The splendour of the scene:

You must admit that rock fortress on that far mountain makes a powerful statement for an oil painting!
What I like about the scene is the filtering of the shadows through the trees from the right side. And also how it created a subtle blue shadow within the grasslands. It gives the painting an atmospheric dimension of space.
The soft blue of the shadows contrasts subtly with the earthy autumn colours.

As to the composition format:

The definition of the foreground trees contrasting with the distant trees draws you in, making the rock fortress the focal point.
Added to that the clear open space of the sky takes away the business of the scene.
Luckily the trees were there to break the starkness of the horizon.

I enjoyed paining it:

You may think it was easy to paint it. But to get the brightness of the light autumn leaves, I had to subtly interplay light against darker patches of paint.
Pushing and pulling tones to get the right effects of the afternoon sun-rays was fun to do. To create that type of ambiance, one has to remember careful blurring creates atmospheric perspective.
And inserting slightly darker blue within and surrounding the tree’s forage, creates atmospheric dimension and helps to settle the trees comfortably against the starkness of the sky.

After that lovely autumn scene:

As we moved on again, we were lucky later to come across these buffalo:

If those buffalo had to be painted:

I love the moody effects surrounding the buffalo and would love to paint them someday. But don’t know who would like to have paintings like that hanging in their house?

First: I think the atmospheric conditions and setting of the surround background make the whole scene look emotionally exciting.
But most people like buying dramatic wildlife paintings! And to make them look fierce like that, you have to zoom in and leave out most of the background, to create more intense impact.

But in this case if you zoomed in, you may see the buffalo as just some humble looking farm-cattle!

What do you think?

How would you have me paint it? With or without the background? Love to have your opinion.
And which photo of the two photos above of the buffalo should I paint? The first photo or the second one?
And which of the two photos, do you think would look the fiercest?

I don't think so the autumn scene photo is real, it looks like a painting.
Paint it without the background, because the background is too messy.

The autumn scene with the rock fortress is an oil painting!
I don't know which scene you think has a messy background? The autumn scene or the photos of the buffalo?

PHoto of buffalo. not easy to paint.

Yes, very had to make the buffalo look fierce and impressive.
I was wondering if bush environment surroundings would give the painting a authentic touch or not. But you think it would make the scene look messy and distract from the power of the buffalo!

This is sound like very interesting place , never heard about it until now

Yes you have heard of it. You have been reading all about my Kruger trip before. And its great to have you back again.

Hello @artguru, how are u doing? It's fun to travel in the forest of a very beautiful national park and lots of wild animals there. You are a great painter, friend. I prefer if you paint the second buffalo. in my opinion it is more beautiful and looks more savage. Enjoy your day, my friend.

I think the second photo of the buffalo too. The first one has it's head down eating the grass.
There isn't a forest in the Kruger National Park. But the terrain does differ somewhat. One minute you have flattish open areas and next deep valleys, then lush areas and dry areas, then bush and rocky outcrops. Very fascinating, hey!

I admit it.

You must admit that rock fortress on that far mountain makes a powerful statement for an oil painting!

He, he! You certainly like to be impressed by something when you look at a painting, hey!
Yes, a painting must have a impressive focal point.

A beautiful day with beautiful animals, what else we want!

Wao best adventure. Kruger is very famous and beautiful park. My wish is one i m visiting kruger park. It is my favourite park. Buffalo looks so beautiful. You are best artist. You always doing your work very wonderful. Your combination of colours is very interesting and amazing. Thanks for sharing.@artguru.

I wish you could see the original. Digital pixels destroy the colours and detail, when you have to reduce the size of a photo for quicker downloads!