Elephant Painting - Finished

So I said on Tuesday that I'd probably finish the painting in the next session. Well, it looks like I was right. Here it is - signed, dated and finished: -

I have to be honest and say that I'm pretty satisfied with what I've done here. Up to now I've only ever been pleased with my horses when it comes to animals. A couple of years ago I painted a camel and a stag and to be honest I didn't think that much of either painting. But this is pretty close to what I wanted to achieve - the whole point when I started sketching onto the canvas was to try to get across the monumentality of an African elephant, and I'm happy that I've done that to the best of my ability.

Negative points? Well, looking objectively I think that the head is just a little too wide. However I am pleased with the use of shade and shadow on the body. I'm really pleased with the foliage as well. If you've been following the progress of this painting you'll know that just the foliage alone took hours. Here's a comparison between the painting with just the foliage and a hardly painted in elephant outline, and the finished painting: -