Monday, June 01, 2015

Bill Ballentine #4


Posted by Buckles at 6/01/2015 05:51:00 AM

2 comments:

Roger Smith said...

This work was an illustration for the chapter "The Sarasota Masai" on Pat Anthony, in WILD TIGERS AND TAME FLEAS. Bill Johnston described Pat's training of this lion. They hung his feeds on a hook. lowered from the light tub rigging, down to easily reachable height. The lion had to rear on his hind legs to obtain his meal. Gradually, they raised the meat so that he stood up high during feeding. The process Mabel Stark spoke of as "muscling them up" takes time for the correct conditioning, but when you're thoughtful of your animal, and you know the regimen of training, you take the time. When Pat was ready to add the cue for this feature, his lion was toughened up for a memorable hind-leg walk, combined with a stirring bounce at the finish.

01 June, 2015 16:27
Jim Alexander said...

I remember this illustration in the book. In the book it's a line drawing like the other great illustrations. Would be great to see the original watercolor and the other art works. Thanks for sharing them.

01 June, 2015 19:28

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