I loved creating this painting. The experience was inspired and full of energy and it is one of my favourite pieces so far. The title is the name of an animal behaviour in which the creature opens its mouth widely and inhales scents and pheromones from the air.

The evolution of this painting is somewhat convoluted. Some years ago, I was given a photograph (by Nicky Tarry) when I was training in pet portraiture. Even then, I knew I wanted to shift towards wildlife art. I used the image to practice drawing a tongue in coloured pencil.  But I could see the image had much more potential and it needed to be BIG.

Later, I visited the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year exhibition. I am a people watcher so I settled down with my cup of tea and an enormous chocolate swirl pastry. I looked around at the amazing work the other artists had produced, recognising Catherine Ingleby’s art immediately from across the room. People milled around looking at the art but I noticed a striking woman entering the gallery. Her clothing was stylish with clean lines. She walked with a notebook and viewed the art with a distinctive purpose. Her mannerisms were different to the other folk. I could tell she was here to buy.  There was a large metre by metre painting on the wall. She spoke to an gallery assistant and bought it there and then.

At the time I was preparing for a trip to Paris and my energy was high. I knew exactly what I was going to do when I came home. I painted this metre by metre painting passionately, painting from the shoulder. Working on a larger scale, I was able to create rich detail.