There is no land predator to compare with the tiger. The color enhances the charisma of this solitary and secretive animal. Of all the subspecies of tigers, the Siberian is the most powerful. The momentum in this painting is achieved by emphasizing the diagonal, and by fading the legs, belly and tail almost into the white of the snow. The undulating power of the line along the spine to the muzzle is the forward, downward thrust. The thought occurred to me that inevitably there is a downward momentum to the population of wild tigers worldwide. - RB