I've been trying to get back into more real media painting and also teach myself to be more patient and take more time to develop my concepts before just lunging into painting. Some paintings work out just the same but I think larger scale ideas should be researched a bit more before I start painting them. I suppose we will see how this works out .

The warrior is based loosely on the maasai of Tanzania and Kenya. I have been doing a good deal of research on tribes of Africa and hope to continue to do so as I never want to insult the people of Africa, but rather pay my homage and appreciation for the beatuy, depth and richness of their cultures. One thing I read that I found interesting was a native Maasai warrior's remark on how western photographers never give the subjects of their photo's names. They treat native peoples as animals without recognizing that each man, woman and child has a name. The same of course applies to animals themselves. I hope to give each subject of my paintings a name, not just 'a cheetah' or 'a maasai warrior'..

for the moment this fella has no name, a little more research will change that .

color/mood for this painting has already been plotted out..for the most part ^__^