As David Shepherd’s favourite animal, elephants were the subject that the artist returned to most often for his wildlife pictures. Early in his career, Shepherd was given the chance to see his first elephants in the wild by Mervyn Cowie, a pioneering conservationist, at Amboseli in Kenya; an experience which was to have a profound effect upon his life’s work. Describing Amboseli as "raw, unspoiled Africa", Shepherd delighted at the opportunity to get close to elephants in great numbers, all the while observing and photographing them for his subject paintings. These such encounters led to a special affinity between  the artist and the animal; a connection which found a perpetual outlet in his artistic production.

In Lord of the Bush, Shepherd adopts a low viewpoint replicating how he would have seen the animal when in the bush. This at once enhances the monumental form of this bull elephant which dominates the space with its majestic presence. Employing his familiar optic technique, the composition is constructed out of a multiple of sections that are each either in or out of focus, leading our attention towards the focal point which in turn renders the whole to appear as it would from life when seen through the human eye. As we observe we are drawn to the superb definition of the elephant’s leathery skin and large, flapping ears which stands in marked contrast to the broader, impressionistic brushwork adopted for the surrounding environment that remains. The immediate foreground is rich in texture with thick impasto brushwork, a much desired and highly recognisable hallmark of Shepherd’s distinctive style.