The presence and power of a lion is too great to capture in words.

It’s feeling that deep roar rumble through your chest as you fall asleep in the African bush.

It’s wondering; how can something so soft, gentle, even be felt so deep in the heart?

Perhaps better captured in pigment—an attempt to visualize some of that magic.

African lions are so iconic, it’s often easy to think they’re invincible to almost anything. A world without lions is unthinkable. Yet, they are quietly disappearing, with only around 20,000 roaming the African continent—reduced to only around 5% of its natural habitat range. It’s estimated that lion populations have HALVED since The Lion King premiered in theaters almost three decades ago.

Let that sink in.

Lions are rapidly losing habitat, and on top of that immense threat of simply less space, this encroachment leads to more human-wildlife conflict. Lions are are victims of retaliation killings, and face the additional threat of human greed and exploitation through poaching for the illegal wildlife trade, along with being bred for canned lion hunting and cub petting.

A portion of the proceeds from purchasing this painting will go directly to a locally-run lion conservation initiative in Africa.