Standing guard

And this is where the previous two elephants ended up. Standing guard on either side of the entrance of the BlackRock office, opposite Monuement tube station.

I really like the way the two of them shine out like little gems against the imposing architecture.

Around the World

The second design for BlackRock is made up of monuements from the cities around the world where they have their offices. As some buildings, like the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye look better lit up, we decided to make one half of the elephant Night and the other side Day.

Mayur Gajendra.

This is the first of two elephants I painted for a sponsor, BlackRock Investments, as part of the Elephant Parade. Both designs were created in collaboration with the company.

Here the elephant is combined with that other wildlife emblem of India - the peacock - and this is reflected in the name too. "Mayur" means peacock in Sanskrit, while "Gajendra" is the King of the Elephants according to Hindu folklore.

Rather than creating a symmetrical design I thought it would be more interesting to have a different focus of interest on each side. So the fan of feathers sprouts from one ear while on the other side an eye becomes part of a feather.

Heavenly Jewel - out of the studio....

....varnished and mounted on his plinth in Leicester Square Gardens for the next two months! Part of the Elephant Parade 2010.

A post pachyderm glass of beer...

Time for a nice relaxing glass of beer after all that painting.

The glass shape is specifically meant for white beer which is a Bavarian speciality. While it may not contain the correct drink, the patterns on it and the matching beer mat are appropriate for the purpose in that all the motifs and colours are taken from the Bavarian coat of arms.