Keith Andrew McAllister Paintings - Original Oils - African Wildlife Artist

"Abyssinian Shadows"

Keith McAllister - oil painting

Abyssinian Shadows captures a fleeting moment I remember well when a leopard suddenly became aware of my presence. I savoured this moment, which lasted only a split second, until once again I was left alone in the dense mountain forest.

Here I wanted to relay the depth of shadows, strong highlights and the subtle viridian in the backlighting. This was a challenge and a labour of constant concentration.

Size: 72" x 40" (approx 183cm x 102cm)
Location: Ethiopian Highlands
Species: Leopard
Frame: Double framed in a ‘gun metal’ exterior frame.

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"Ambosellis Child"

Keith McAllister - oil painting

This is an image of motherhood in the life of a young African elephant. Another addition to the family is being entertained and guarded well. The fallen acacia behind the two elephants pulls the painting together by making up the middle distance, which then fades into the shadows behind the scene.

 

Size: Approx 32" x 28" (approx 81cm x 71cm)
Location: Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Species: African Elephant
Frame: Double framed, in a white interior frame and blackened exterior frame with a silver lining.

 

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"Big Country"

Keith McAllister - oil painting

The concentration for this work was the idea of space and the vastness of the African bush. The heat haze and distance played out over the grassland and clots of bush inspired the idea of a Big Country.

 

Size: 72" x 36" (approx. 183cm x 91cm)
Location: Maasailand
Species: Buffalo, red billed ox picker, Maasai Giraffe
Frame: Subtle gold frame with multi tones

 

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"Botswana Afternoons"

Keith McAllister - oil painting

I had a chance to spend some time in Botswana in addition to a trip planned for Zimbabwe. I found this group, part of larger heard only feet away, sitting under an old tree with the shadows playing about them. The network of colour in the highlights emphasised any movement in reality but on canvas it simply added an idea of the dappled sunlight falling where it may.

 

Size: Approx 48" x 32" (approx. 122cm x 81cm)
Location: Chobe National Park, Botswana
Species: African Elephant
Frame: N/A

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"Defiance"

Keith McAllister - oil painting

‘He sat in defiance of municipal orders...’ Rudyard Kipling

The leopard is a clever creature and quite capable of adapting to new situations. That is why he is always one of the last wild animals to move along when man decides to modernise and diversify on his home turf. Despite the emergence of a concrete jungle around him he will quite happily stand and watch the new world, and at night perhaps venture into it. On the outskirts of the African cities leopards may skulk around and scare the neighbourhood’s dogs, cats and horses. People lost several dogs to them when I lived in Zaire (present day DRC).

 

Size: 30 X 20 inches
Location: Kenya
Species: African Leopard
Frame: N/A

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"The Residence Of Silence"

Keith McAllister - oil painting

Despite the fragility and decline of these swamps, the papyrus lined rivers in western Tanzania are still one of some few places where species such as the elusive Sitatunga still frequent. With their elongated hoofs the sitatunga distributes its body weight over a larger surface area, allowing the swamp dweller to walk on floating reed beds, making it look like he can run on water. Population increases around the water sources have lead to poaching and over fishing of these fragile areas. Although not on the tourist trail these swamps are critical breeding areas to our African rivers.

 

Size: 72" x 42"
Location: Tanzania
Species: Sitatunga, Bottle Brush Bird
Frame: Double framed with a ‘Gun Metal’ exterior frame

"The Rarest of Guests"

Keith McAllister - oil painting

The Hirola, or Hunter’s Hartebeest, has unfortunately made it onto the overpopulated list of endangered species, due to habitat loss and heavy poaching. Various relocation and translocation projects have been carried out with some effect but the main risk to this animal is the difficult terrain it habitats and the inability to conclusively stop poaching in these areas of North Eastern Kenya and Southern Somalia.

 

Size: 48" x 30"
Location: Eastern Kenya
Species: Hirola/Hunters Hartebeest, Bull Elephant, Chestnut Bellied Sand-grouse Brush Bird

Frame: Maroon frame with subtle silver lining

"The Man Eaters"

Keith McAllister - oil painting

With this piece I wanted to bring back an idea from days gone by when men didn’t as much visit Africa as survive it. In Patterson’s tale of‘The Man Eaters of Tsavo’ the emphasis is put on the fear instilled when man becomes prey. The light, colour, and dramatic brush strokes evoke a sense of occasion in this piece and leave’s the viewer with the feeling of anticipation.

 

Size: 60 x 36 inches
Location: Typical of Central Africa
Species: Lion

Frame: A bronze coloured moulding with a soft white inlay

"The Elegant Killer"

Keith McAllister - oil painting

After watching a successful hunt you will observe a moment of vulnerability for the triumphant cheetah, as it realizes it is now at the mercy of opportunists like the hyena, and other big cats. It quickly scours the horizon looking to see if anyone saw it hunt while breathing deep to pull oxygen back into its overheating muscles. This particular animal sat with a beautiful ‘S’ shaped figure and looked off into the distance, with the suns dying light turning it a lovely cool blue in colour.

 

Size: Approx 40" x 30" (approx. 102cm X 76cm)
Location: The Maasai Mara
Species: Cheetah and Thompson’s Gazelle

Frame: Natural wood

"The Borders of Eden"

Keith McAllister - oil painting

This painting is from a land deep in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. When I grew up there it was still called Zaire, and some of my earliest memories are of getting into canoes and crossing the many river ways throughout this land. To compose this painting I referred to many images we have in our family albums, added to the resource material I had gathered for myself. I doubt there are many people left who remember the days when animals like these were still numerous.

 

Size: 40 X 40 inches
Location: The Maasai Mara
Species: Cheetah and Thompson’s Gazelle

Frame: Natural wood