Black-backed Jackals

A few black-backed jackals were waiting near a lion kill, hoping to get their share when the lions moved away to rest. I sketched the jackals and small acacia in pen on watercolor paper, then added the watercolor later, painting en plein air, from my memory and imagination. Sketching from life is challenging but always fascinating, especially when your subjects are animals which move constantly. To sketch these wary jackals, whose ears were always attuned to any possible threat, I started with the body shapes then sketched the head and ears last.