"On the Run"

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is the tallest land animal, capable of exceeding five metres. Its gallop is surprisingly graceful for so improbable a silhouette — forelegs and hindlegs launch in pairs in a slow, powerful movement.

Five giraffes cross the frame from left to right at full gallop. The elongated horizontal format was an obvious choice for this subject — it gives the run its space and its duration. The watercolour dissolves the ground in a simple warm wash, almost abstract, so as not to weigh down legs that seem to fly. The foreground giraffe almost exits the frame: the movement does not stop.