Arundhati at the River

18 x 26 inches unframed | $3,500

While working in India, I spent time sketching Arundhati and her mouhut, Zahoor Khan. Several months later, she slipped in a muddy creek embankment, fractured one of her front legs and within weeks died. She was 80 years old. Arundhati lived and worked in Rajaji National Park. Rajaji is one of 24 major wildlife reserves in India and is known for its high Asiatic elephant population. In fact, the. reserve has 10 million-year-old fossils of 50 species of elephants. Only one of those 50 elephant species now survives as the Asiatic elephant. Arundhati was India’s Elephant Queen.

To purchase, email davidrankinwatercolors@gmail.
Be sure to indicate the title of the painting you wish.

Creating Reference for Arundhati at the River

While in Rajaji, David photographed the elephant and her mouhut, gathering reference for this painting. He also did several quick pencil sketches and a color study.

We drove from Delhi to Haridwar where we spent a few days, then on to Rajaji Tiger Reserve. It has about 600 elephants, 250 leopards and 11 tigers. It is located in the Shivalik range of the Himalayas.

We saw peacocks, bee-eaters, hornbills and white hawks, deer and other elephants. No tigers. It is divided into 2 parts by the Ganges River, and includes 1,075 square kilometers. That’s about 265,638 acres. It’s a dense forest jungle  and we were there for only a day, and there were no other tourists around.