tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58647998154718290472024-03-14T01:14:54.687-07:00Brest van Kempen TourTHE TOURING ONE-PERSON EXHIBITION of CAREL PIETER BREST van KEMPEN
is available for display at museums and other institutions. To schedule the exhibition, or for further information, contact David J. Wagner, Ph.D., Curator/Tour Director at: davidjwagnerllc@yahoo.com or (414) 221-6878.Carel Brest van Kempenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02526786631222320968noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864799815471829047.post-13831444468381215822012-07-02T09:39:00.002-07:002022-02-09T16:26:35.128-08:00VENUES:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span>Museum of Arts & Sciences, Daytona Beach, FL<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>Chicago Academy of Sciences, Chicago, IL<br />
</span></b><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Kansas Wetland Education Center Great Bend, KS<br />
</span></b><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">George A Spiva Center for the Arts; Joplin, MO<br />Houston Museum of Natural Science; Sugar Land, TX<br />Sternberg Museum of Natural History; Hays, KS<br />Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center; Chadron, NE<br />Kenosha Public Museum; Kenosha, WI<br />Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum; Oradell, NJ<br />Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum; Tucson, AZ<br />The Wildling Art Museum; Santa Barbara, CA<br />The Wildlife Experience Museum; Denver, CO</span></b><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
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<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;">COMPLETE TOUR ITINERARY <a href="http://cpbvk-tour.blogspot.com/2012/07/itinerary.html">HERE</a> </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">________________________</span></span></span></span><br />
<span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Below are images and captions for the fifty paintings included in the exhibition. Clicking on any image will reveal a larger version of it.</span></span></span><br />
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HARRIS' HAWK & COMMON CHUCKWALLA (2006)</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 30" x 20"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRhMkiFZSP_XDb-xCzUFEWaYRRZ0nIoKacO-j-LwzW3zFYAiuL2ngKYHNSK1qkvPmbZlzLLPGtB3E_hiRTeo15m9kjK90XKZ0eFUQALuvS1Eo9kTUO4EDMfzZE3DKiehUWaENsux6UlZA/s1600/10-harrischuck.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577135489843916194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRhMkiFZSP_XDb-xCzUFEWaYRRZ0nIoKacO-j-LwzW3zFYAiuL2ngKYHNSK1qkvPmbZlzLLPGtB3E_hiRTeo15m9kjK90XKZ0eFUQALuvS1Eo9kTUO4EDMfzZE3DKiehUWaENsux6UlZA/s400/10-harrischuck.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 265px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Accumulations
of rock make wonderful habitat for many lizard species. They provide
a wide temperature gradient that makes it easy for the animals to
thermoregulate, basking on a sun-exposed surface to elevate their
body temperature and retreating into a cool crevice to lower it. Such
crevices also afford safe fortification against many predators. Among
the most rock-adapted reptiles are the five Chuckwalla species of the
genus <i>Sauromalus</i>, found in the southwestern U.S. and northern
Mexico, including a number of islands in the Sea of Cortez, where
three described species are endemic. The Common Chuckwalla (<i>S.
ater</i>) is typical of the group. With a high optimal body
temperature, it spends a lot of time basking on exposed rocks,
usually near a crevice which it will slide into at the hint of
danger. If pressed, it will gulp air and inflate its body, making it
quite impossible to pull out. Harris' Hawk (<i>Parabuteo unicictus</i>)
is a unique raptor species of the American tropics. Normally shunning
thick jungles, it haunts llanos, chaco, chaparral and scrub forest in
the drier parts of that region, ranging as far north as the southern
tip of Nevada. Fast and powerful, this social bird feeds on a variety
of prey, from rabbits and ducks to reptiles. Incidental subjects in
this painting include a Compass Barrel Cactus (<i>Ferocactus
cylindraceus </i>), honey ants (<i>Myrmecosus </i>sp.), Desert Spiny
Lizard (<i>Sceloporus magister</i>), Turkey Vulture (<i>Cathartes
aura</i>), and Costa's Hummingbird (<i>Calypte costae</i>). </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">RIPARIAN RASHOMON (2009)<br />acrylic diptych on illustration board 15"; 15" x 20"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6O3EXDuN7t0hIplTBhBjURu4VelGZT4zuUjHkZOZkp9GJOUTK3alDKd-5ZmL6ac1h55yZPnHb5BNkw3EelBhOfZzb5MsNzydRHozrQZVy4JtWAtI2saSzCAzqPFHMvlioMUOaJiZ639SS/s1600/cpbvk-riparian-rashomon001red.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680527031858781986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6O3EXDuN7t0hIplTBhBjURu4VelGZT4zuUjHkZOZkp9GJOUTK3alDKd-5ZmL6ac1h55yZPnHb5BNkw3EelBhOfZzb5MsNzydRHozrQZVy4JtWAtI2saSzCAzqPFHMvlioMUOaJiZ639SS/s400/cpbvk-riparian-rashomon001red.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 262px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;">
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Two different viewpoints of the same
event illustrate some of the common evasive strategies employed by
frogs. The Brilliant Forest Frog (<i>Rana warszewitschii</i>)
inhabits rain forests from Honduras to Panama. When resting upon leaf
litter, its drab dorsal colors are cryptic, but bright yellow spots
on its thighs flash when it leaps, and a glimpse of its brilliant
underside is even more likely to startle and confuse a predator. Upon
disappearing beneath the water's surface, it usually follows a wild,
zig-zag course, ending up some distance from where the naïve
viewer might anticipate. This painting's antagonist, the Agami Heron
(<i>Agamia agami</i>), ranges through most of Tropical America, but
does not occur in great numbers anywhere and is infrequently seen.
Long of neck and short of leg, it haunts streams within heavy forests
and feeds upon small fish and amphibians. Incidental subjects in this
painting include a water strider (<i>Gerris</i> sp.), damselfly
naiads (family Coenagrinionidae) and a White-necked Puffbird
(<i>Notharchus macrorhynchus</i>).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">AGARRANDO LA MAÑANA—BLACK VULTURES (1994)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">India ink wash 14" x 20"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmo5iIdtyyKBf7tkZD59udRVPcf-6D4DUvdEJIAFggS_rCU9xn2smXk8ZTj0xUtTX9Kj87x8Fsgsgwj_19w-AriurQHp9e36O0fcuwFJvi_kEn0t-rJllpM9r_YrttuHYPYcJE38sJSq-/s1600/01-agarrando.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577129783863913586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmo5iIdtyyKBf7tkZD59udRVPcf-6D4DUvdEJIAFggS_rCU9xn2smXk8ZTj0xUtTX9Kj87x8Fsgsgwj_19w-AriurQHp9e36O0fcuwFJvi_kEn0t-rJllpM9r_YrttuHYPYcJE38sJSq-/s400/01-agarrando.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 288px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The
vultures of the Americas are very different from their Old World
namesakes, which are related to eagles. Of the eight New World
vulture species, three can be
observed in North America: the California Condor, the Turkey Vulture,
and the one depicted here, the Black Vulture (<i>Coragyps atratus</i>).
The idea for this piece was born while topping a ridge on Costa
Rica’s Osa Peninsula one morning, when I spied a distant group of
black vultures enjoying the dawn’s first rays in typical vulturine
style. The birds were sunning in bright light, but the still thick
jungle fog separating us obscured their images, simplifying their
forms into boldly abstract shapes of two tones: the illuminated and
the shaded. I quickly sketched some designs based on what I saw,
which I planned to later organize into a painting. Black vultures are
common throughout the American tropics and are plentiful and tame in
many towns, so I expected to have little trouble finding cooperative
models from which to render some more detailed drawings, once I had
rough sketches of the basic design I wanted. As plans often are,
these were soon frustrated, and as I made my way east, sunning
vultures would invariably fold their wings once I removed my pack and
fumbled for a pad and pencil. I was finally reduced to sleeping in
the local dump outside of Antón, Panama, and positioning
myself next to a favorite roost before daylight, where the final
drawing for this piece was at last executed.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">A
KERANGAS FOREST FLOOR (2010)<br /><i>acrylic
on illustration board 30" x 20" </i></span></span></span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgMYm5tfJ5xND5Z1cmSnd1552MBmp-kRQpa5e7rH9p39itKWFw5Ml3Mnuenl3K9FsgDxo2ySJqJSyCMKfc0BSymajxj4-dD97DDuilFSjkUDX_gRqd9-1m3ki_HQXUYMO5tYyRdzIWBtf/s1600/cpbvk-kerangaslr.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgMYm5tfJ5xND5Z1cmSnd1552MBmp-kRQpa5e7rH9p39itKWFw5Ml3Mnuenl3K9FsgDxo2ySJqJSyCMKfc0BSymajxj4-dD97DDuilFSjkUDX_gRqd9-1m3ki_HQXUYMO5tYyRdzIWBtf/s1600/cpbvk-kerangaslr.JPG" width="212" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">Of
all of Borneo's varied ecosystems, perhaps none is more surprising
than the biologically impoverished (by equatorial standards) dwarf
forests that occur throughout the island, but more commonly in the
west. The ecologist P. W. Richards called them “heath forests”
after the similarly infertile lands of his native England, but
they're better known by the Iban term <i>kerangas</i>, which means
“land which will not support rice cultivation.” Kerangas soil is
typically acidic, sandy and podzolized, or heavily leached. Essential
elements enter the soil from decaying leaf litter, but most of these,
magnesium, carbon, nitrogen and calcium in particular, leach away
very quickly, and are only available in the top few inches.
Phosphorus seems to leach away more slowly. Continual deposition of
leaf litter is critical to the system, and disease, fire and logging
or clearing for agriculture will convert kerangas to a barren habitat
dominated by grasses and sedges known as <i>padang</i> (“field”
in Malay). Despite the poor soil, healthy kerangas forests are dense
with trees, most of them under 30 feet tall and three inches in
diameter. In contrast to most equatorial forests, only a few species
are represented. Dominant tree species usually belong to the
mangosteen family, Clusiaceae, and to one or more of the genera
<i>Cratoxylum</i>, <i>Calophyllum</i> and <i>Ploiarium</i>. Orchids
show the greatest species diversity among kerangas plants, and
terrestrial as well as epiphytic species are usually in evidence.
Species of melastomes, laurels, myrtles and gingers are also commonly
represented. Many kerangas plant species bear nitrogen-fixing
bacterial nodules on their roots, and carnivorous plants also thrive.
Borneo's kerangas forests are a center of diversity for the pitcher
plant genus <i>Nepenthes</i>, which trap insects in leaves which are
modified into water-bearing pitchers. At least one Bornean species,
<i>N. rajah</i>, secretes a nectar that attracts tree shrews whose
droppings are captured in the pitcher to nourish the plant. In
perennially wet padang habitat, Bladderworts (<i>Utricularia</i>
spp.) and Sundews (<i>Drosera</i> spp.) also trap small arthropods.
Another famous kerangas denizen is the epiphytic ant plant
(<i>Hydnophytum</i> spp.), which forms a symbiotic relationship with
ants, providing them shelter, while receiving protection from the
colony and nutrients from its wastes. This painting depicts a small
patch of kerangas forest floor. Included in the leaf litter are shed
leaves of the dominant tree <i>Cratoxylum glaucum</i> and shed
needles of the podocarp (primitive conifer) <i>Dacrydium becarii</i>.
Various mosses of the family Calymperaceae and the showy terrestrial
slipper orchid <i>Paphiopedilum javanicum</i> grow from the soil and
a single dried <i>Nepenthes ampullaria</i> pitcher sits on the floor
while pitchers of <i>N. stenophylla</i> hang from epiphytic vines.
Duméril's Monitor (<i>Varanus dumerilii</i>) occurs near
rivers in various types of forest throughout the island. The
hatchlings, like the one shown, are well-known for their striking
coloration. It has been suggested that the colors, which begin to
fade at the age of six weeks, mimic the dangerously venomous
Red-headed Krait (<i>Bungarus flaviceps</i>), which shares its
Southeast Asian range. Among Borneo's diverse and beautiful
dragonflies, probably none is more conspicuous than the Red
Swampdragon (<i>Agrionoptera insignis</i>), a member of the skimmer
family, Libellulidae. Other subjects include the left-handed land
snail <i>Dyakia kintana</i> and a Giant Forest Ant (<i>Camponotus
gigas</i>), whose dimorphic workers forage for honeydew and other
organic matter on the ground and in the canopy. At over an inch in
length, the major workers of this species are among the world's
biggest ants. Finally, a procession of <i>Longipeditermes longipes</i>
termites returns to the nest with balls of lichen in tow. Both the
workers and soldiers of this monotypic genus come in two sizes. Like
other members of their subfamily, nasutitermes, the heads of the
soldiers are distorted into nozzles, through which they can spray
noxious chemicals at enemies, chiefly ants.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">AJOLOTE (2011)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 14" x 9"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWhQp27GXTQvOPsjWZ4h7ulr4ghOR9SA1YhCnx9u_DfR4fyZSYXJWL1rQHiv_t0k5LDhsVYyK16i_rJNRnZ5JWRw0Iz1o-cS_9mWwa5jQ1M0eVvOZMhZZxZH5msCPAfhStGKMOLWYTBtyW/s1600/cpbvk-ajolote-hilo.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619291580052892018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWhQp27GXTQvOPsjWZ4h7ulr4ghOR9SA1YhCnx9u_DfR4fyZSYXJWL1rQHiv_t0k5LDhsVYyK16i_rJNRnZ5JWRw0Iz1o-cS_9mWwa5jQ1M0eVvOZMhZZxZH5msCPAfhStGKMOLWYTBtyW/s400/cpbvk-ajolote-hilo.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 315px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Just where on the reptile family tree to put the worm lizards, or amphisbaenians, has long been a puzzle for taxonomists. Traditionally lumped with the lizards, these days they're more often given their own suborder alongside the snakes and lizards. What ever their systematics, their appearance and habits share more in common with earthworms than reptiles. Spending most of their lives below ground, they progress with a worm-like, peristaltic movement of their body segments. On the surface, they can move in a more typical serpentine fashion. Most amphisbaenians are found in tropical Africa and South America, but a few are found as far north as the Mediterranean, and in the Americas to Florida and northwestern Mexico. Unlike other amphisbaenians, the wormlike visage of the little-known Mexican genus <span style="font-style: italic;">Bipes</span> is rather spoiled by the presence of a pair of stout digging forelimbs. Like the rest of their group, none of whom bear visible limbs, the 3-4 known <span style="font-style: italic;">Bipes</span> species dig by forcing their hard little noses into the soil and moving them back and forth. The forelimbs are used to push loosened soil out of the way. They seem to subsist mostly upon termites and ants, and sometimes forage upon the surface at night. Two Bipes species occur in Michoacán and Guerrero, but the best-known of the group, <span style="font-style: italic;">B. biporus</span>, is found in Baja California, where it is known as the Ajolote. A number of very poorly documented records from other parts of Mexico, Arizona, and as far north as Nebraska, suggest that it may be more widespread than believed. In this painting, an Ajolote forages about a rotting fencepost on termites of the genus <span style="font-style: italic;">Reticulitermes</span>.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">BLACK SKIMMER (2003)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic on illustration board 22" x 30"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazWPDHSKlJpy15OaEJnWBpBGeA-LRs5xp5SsPdUI3qvfVxVU2RPH-y1CvbBla5KKe4tAATSzKMZqnvXuZT7hIoqRhQvpeOPiQRzhLRxU_HGUeZ0SdWFAml5rvzL3LyLpQAxbchrGCsBwR/s1600/04-black-skimmer.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577131032425896610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazWPDHSKlJpy15OaEJnWBpBGeA-LRs5xp5SsPdUI3qvfVxVU2RPH-y1CvbBla5KKe4tAATSzKMZqnvXuZT7hIoqRhQvpeOPiQRzhLRxU_HGUeZ0SdWFAml5rvzL3LyLpQAxbchrGCsBwR/s400/04-black-skimmer.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">The
peculiar skimmers are related to gulls and terns, and live near fresh
or saltwater bodies in the warmer regions around the globe. The three
species, one African, one Asian, and one American, are all quite
similar in appearance and behavior. The lower mandibles of these
birds are much longer than the upper -- an adaptation well suited to
their unique method of foraging. A feeding skimmer flies just above
the water, plowing the surface with its lower bill. When a fish is
encountered, it is snapped up and consumed. Another peculiarity of
the skimmers is the presence of a vertical pupil, something found in
no other bird. This allows greater control of light entering the eye,
which is useful to fowl that spend a lot of time resting on white
sands reflecting the tropical sun, but which also regularly feed at
night. Skimmers nest in a small scrape on a sandy beach; the female
usually lays 3 to 7 eggs. The Black Skimmer (<i>Rynchops niger</i>)
ranges along the Atlantic coast of the Americas and along rivers from
the southeastern U.S. to Brazil and from southern California to Peru
along the Pacific. It also nests along the Sea of Cortez.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">RETICULATED PYTHON & MASKED FINFOOT (1999)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic on illustration board 20” x 30”</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jMUT-R5Vx8c1fEHHhaMkCpbe_HEOjgIGs9guwKx4DPH9pW3jxgSbfsa-TW-ffLWTt9yOL7LbueIBB4zsKRf1dnSCyJJ7uTZxDeI66CuKymuM8Eq_EHTR19ujEc_qyUAylUGK_GGj0VXh/s1600/cpbvk-reticulated-lr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680528972555967074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jMUT-R5Vx8c1fEHHhaMkCpbe_HEOjgIGs9guwKx4DPH9pW3jxgSbfsa-TW-ffLWTt9yOL7LbueIBB4zsKRf1dnSCyJJ7uTZxDeI66CuKymuM8Eq_EHTR19ujEc_qyUAylUGK_GGj0VXh/s400/cpbvk-reticulated-lr.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">Capable
of attaining a length of thirty feet, the Reticulated Python (<i>Python
reticulatus</i>) is by far Asia's biggest snake. Ranging through most
of Southeast Asia and the Philippines, as far east as the Moluccas,
the “rectic” is a versatile reptile, occurring in all manner of
habitats and inclined to feed opportunistically on most any animal it
encounters when hungry, from rats to deer to birds like this Masked
Finfoot (<i>Heliopais personata</i>), an uncommon and distant
relative of the coot. I agonized over whether or not to paint the
female finfoot swimming beneath the surface, which is atypical
behavior according to most of the literature (I've never seen this
species in nature), but having read some accounts of their occasional
diving, and having seen their American equivalent, the Sungrebe
(<i>Heliornis fulica</i>), dive once, I decided to surrender to my
artistic impulses. The incidental species in this piece include the
butterfly <i>Junonia almana</i>, a robust damselfly (family
Lestidae), water strider (family Gerridae), a minnow (family
Cyprinidae), loach (family Cobitidae), Forest Softshell Turtle
(<i>Dogania subplana</i>), and Water Skink (<i>Tropidophorus
berdmorei</i>). </span></span></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">CALIFORNIA CONDOR (2005)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">oil 72" x 108"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkO3vfo2SGNfq7efZsunrUNK4t_DKX_UPSZrLGn7lFHWEr2B0nU5GxwYoyXJTHcy1LaG5H-J4UHqXp3z5KmQBR7BBFtV9x0BWh48nVYW9I6NudFwlpPe3cVcslxAkdah6nODTV8_SQaxM9/s1600/06-californiacondor.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577133786384063954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkO3vfo2SGNfq7efZsunrUNK4t_DKX_UPSZrLGn7lFHWEr2B0nU5GxwYoyXJTHcy1LaG5H-J4UHqXp3z5KmQBR7BBFtV9x0BWh48nVYW9I6NudFwlpPe3cVcslxAkdah6nODTV8_SQaxM9/s400/06-californiacondor.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 259px;" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""ms reference sans" serif , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Giant
condors were successful and important components of the North
American Pleistocene fauna, but began to decline about 13,000 years
ago, with the extinction of mammoths, ground sloths, and other huge
mammals conventionally attributed to the Human Clovis culture. The
last giant North American species, the California Condor (<i>Gymnogyps
californianus</i>), declined to a mere 22 birds in the mid-1980s, and
the bold decision was made to take the entire population into
captivity. The captive propagation program has been wildly
successful, increasing the population to over 400 today. More than
half of these birds have been released and live, semi-wild, in
California and Arizona, including a number of wild-fledged condors,
the first of which hatched in 2002. The species is still far from
recovered, though, and is continually dependent on human management.
The mortality rate, mostly from power-line collisions and lead bullet
ingestion, still exceeds wild births. Reintroduced condors show
problematic behavior like extreme tameness, and lead poisoning has
caused most of the Arizona birds to be re-trapped for chelation
therapy.</span></span></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br />LESSER FLAMINGOS (2005)<span lang="en-US"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />oil 72” x 108” </span></span></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZF3db-_njr6_6ngNdsrl2xrB6e9nMf3dZHHetVF7Wc5WEs5Lb3yx99YJNgPfAcWUSrslpAIRcX3NwgrldGe7P_bzjUeBKAWE0iDcepaWeoB_oC2zLZtUNvj87VtCLrXBpstq5KbiFaio/s1600/cpbvk-lesserflamingos.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567037362502323890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZF3db-_njr6_6ngNdsrl2xrB6e9nMf3dZHHetVF7Wc5WEs5Lb3yx99YJNgPfAcWUSrslpAIRcX3NwgrldGe7P_bzjUeBKAWE0iDcepaWeoB_oC2zLZtUNvj87VtCLrXBpstq5KbiFaio/s400/cpbvk-lesserflamingos.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 263px;" /> </a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Of the six species of flamingo, the Lesser Flamingo (<span style="font-style: italic;">Phoeniconaias minor</span>)
is the most abundant, with some four million individuals ranging across
sub-Saharan Africa, and smaller populations on the Arabian Peninsula,
India and Pakistan. At just over a yard in height, it is also the
smallest species. Haunting shallow, alkaline lakes, it feeds by forcing
water through lammellae inside its bill with powerful tongue movements,
filtering out algae and tiny invertebrates. Throughout its range, the
Lesser shares this habitat with its much larger cousin, the Greater
Flamingo (<span style="font-style: italic;">P. roseus</span>). There is
little competition for food between the two, though. The lesser feeds
nearer to the surface, and its bill filters out smaller organisms. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">FLY RIVER TURTLE (2004)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 18” x 24” </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEWv83LsyaJ5Qc0Ih5LavQ2MU-PYlc4FYoBomitIZ9CR8_Mx5IG6WISJw8NM1k1hkblEO-kqfGuLAKMkK7n_vLY_nwyakUJv1KXZK6Xh6SKOhm6pwXzqhayiWjd3WvKr5_TKopgRynLs/s1600/cpbvk-flyriver-lr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567103074737525938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEWv83LsyaJ5Qc0Ih5LavQ2MU-PYlc4FYoBomitIZ9CR8_Mx5IG6WISJw8NM1k1hkblEO-kqfGuLAKMkK7n_vLY_nwyakUJv1KXZK6Xh6SKOhm6pwXzqhayiWjd3WvKr5_TKopgRynLs/s400/cpbvk-flyriver-lr.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 294px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">Looking
for all the world like the Mock Turtle from Alice in Wonderland, the
Fly River
Turtle (<i>Carettochelys insculpta</i>) was described to science
</span>science
in 1887 from a specimen collected in New Guinea. In the 1970s a
second population was discovered in the north of Australia's Northern
Territory, making it the only known non-pleurodire freshwater turtle
on that continent today. (The pleurodire, or side-necked, turtles of
Australia, Madagascar, Africa and South America comprise a
clearly-defined suborder that is distinctive in having long necks
that are retracted in a horizontal “S,” laying the head sideways
over one leg. The Fly River Turtle is the sole surviving species of a
family that probably diverged from the ancestral softshell turtles
during the late Jurassic. The group probably originated in Asia
before spreading to Africa, Europe and North America during the
Cenozoic era and finally dying out everywhere but New Guinea, where
<i>Carretochelys</i> is known from fossils dating back at least 14
million years. Its stint in Australia is thought to have been a
matter of tens of thousands of years, but just how it made the
passage to the Northern Territory is a matter of some debate. <span lang="en-US">
The most </span><span lang="en-US">physically
adapted for swimming of all modern freshwater turtles, its
resemblance to sea turtles is a case of convergent evolution, where
similar pressures caused the same traits to evolve independently in
two different groups. Living in slow-moving rivers of Southern New
Guinea and Northern Australia, the Fly River Turtle is more
herbivorous than most highly aquatic fresh-water turtles,
supplementing its diet of aquatic plants and fallen fruit with snails
and other invertebrates, carrion, and occasional fish, although the
Red-striped Rainbowfishes (<i>Melanotaenia splendida</i>) skulking
among the submerged snags have little to fear from the passing
reptile. A dragonfly naiad (<i>Aeschna</i> sp.) clings to the same
snag. Although it is protected in Australia, Indonesia and P.N.G.,
the Fly River Turtle has recently been smuggled out of those
countries in large numbers for the pet trade. In just a couple of
years this smuggling has exploded to the point that the World Wide
Fund for Nature was moved to put the turtle on its “10 most wanted”
endangered species list in September 2004.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""ms reference sans" serif , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span> </span></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">PLUSH-CRESTED JAYS MOB AN ORNATE HAWK-EAGLE (2003)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic on illustration board 30” x 10”</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUGJ5VkFu6nUs29PCJoEm6tAGBmzYikX0hEEIYEBGswPADYusevaSuVYkLsAFVu1CZqC1rINsAkr2K-afzht9R1cZc7NqO2A89ydNOXLr7Bb-DpK8N1fXyDB-FRU0goVDG5oBCiw-73OQ/s1600/cpbvk-plushcrest.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680572269901336770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUGJ5VkFu6nUs29PCJoEm6tAGBmzYikX0hEEIYEBGswPADYusevaSuVYkLsAFVu1CZqC1rINsAkr2K-afzht9R1cZc7NqO2A89ydNOXLr7Bb-DpK8N1fXyDB-FRU0goVDG5oBCiw-73OQ/s400/cpbvk-plushcrest.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 130px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Plush-crested Jays (<span style="font-style: italic;">Cyanocorax chrysops</span>)
are common birds that exploit the edges of a variety of tropical forest
types from Eastern Peru to Northen Argentina. Like most corvids, they
persecute birds of prey relentlessly. In this painting a group of these
jays harass the big and powerful Ornate Hawk Eagle (<span style="font-style: italic;">Spizaetus ornatus</span>),
a spectacular raptor that is rather uncommon, but found widely
throughout the neotropical region. Similar eagles of the same genus are
found throughout Asia and tropical Africa. Incidental creatures in this
piece include a Thread-waisted Wasp (family Sphecidae), a Blue Morpho (<span style="font-style: italic;">Morpho peleides</span>), an anole (<span style="font-style: italic;">Anolis</span> sp.), White-necked Puffbird (<span style="font-style: italic;">Notharchus macrorhynchus</span>), Red-legged Honeycreeper (<span style="font-style: italic;">Cyanerpes cyaneus</span>), and a Saddleback Tamarin (<span style="font-style: italic;">Sanguinus fuscicollis</span>).</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">GREAT TINAMOU (1994)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 20” x 15” </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dntuL4lWoIoFycm9mBZKMHhDj8bJB3lRrZSzRMBztp7Wh2YFKtBgLh1yJwpEp7HUynTqKCDWr4l6SDKO709qXgs_z_BRHBj70LiZMDFdXa7Ou2hjtLPvFldVXmeV0w1O_BXlU07JRNE/s1600/cpbvk-greattinamou-lr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567044522107568642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9dntuL4lWoIoFycm9mBZKMHhDj8bJB3lRrZSzRMBztp7Wh2YFKtBgLh1yJwpEp7HUynTqKCDWr4l6SDKO709qXgs_z_BRHBj70LiZMDFdXa7Ou2hjtLPvFldVXmeV0w1O_BXlU07JRNE/s400/cpbvk-greattinamou-lr.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 302px;" /></a></span>
<br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Tinamous comprise an order of chicken-like birds found in tropical America
that is at least 17 million years old. Forty-seven modern tinamou
species are placed in a single family. They are related to, and
according to some authorities should be considered members of, the
ratites, the group containing the Ostrich, Emu, Kiwis, Cassowaries
and Rheas. Unlike the ratites, Tinamous have a keeled sternum and can
fly, though not terribly well. It seems likely that ratites and
tinamous derived from a common flying ancestor, and the rheas,
ostriches and Antipodean ratites each evolved flightlessness
separately, but this model is not universally accepted. Male tinamous
select the nesting site, and frequently mate with multiple females,
who lay their eggs in the communal nest. The eggs are incubated and
the young are defended by the male. The Great Tinamou (<i>Tinamus
major</i>) is one of the most widespread species, ranging from
Guatemala to Bolivia and central Brazil. Its beautiful turquoise eggs
are laid between the buttresses of a large rainforest tree like this
<i>Hymenolobium</i>. When a male with chicks is ill at ease, he
strikes an odd posture, tilting body forward with rump in the air.
Once apprehension turns to fear, he engages in a distraction display,
running about wildly with wings spread and head held low. The
haunting, mellifluous whistle of this bird is a common evening sound
in pristine neotropical lowland rainforests, and I tried to convey in
this painting some of the mournful, mysterious mood it evokes in me.
On the ground a Central American Jungle Runner (<i>Ameiva festiva</i>)
basks while a yellow Eyelash Palm Pitviper (<i>Bothriechis
schlegelii</i>) lurks in the foliage above. The huge liana draped
about the tree trunks is the spectacular Monkey Ladder (<i>Bauhinia
guianensis</i>).
</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">GOSTOSO!--MANED WOLVES & THREE-BANDED ARMADILLO (1997)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 20" x 30"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBK66m9tC90jEg2pwWtw8qRWNeZiTNpWRJXEv0l7S5HKNHOV_DV0x_S5vm9rHoLNOop-ALBxu1QcvaFWPzL2_14K3HIayWKsrP8PRddhdV8mb9MLOc7dk_T0zkgo3d7eaywFkYbWWjjwE/s1600/cpbvk-gostoso-lr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567126082573673042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBK66m9tC90jEg2pwWtw8qRWNeZiTNpWRJXEv0l7S5HKNHOV_DV0x_S5vm9rHoLNOop-ALBxu1QcvaFWPzL2_14K3HIayWKsrP8PRddhdV8mb9MLOc7dk_T0zkgo3d7eaywFkYbWWjjwE/s400/cpbvk-gostoso-lr.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 248px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">The
imperative to avoid being eaten is one of the prime drivers of
evolution. Protective armor can be an effective defense, and it has
evolved independently in many animal groups. Its main liability is in
adding weight and reducing flexibility, limiting the creature's
ability to flee from predators, thus entrenching its own value. Among
modern mammals, this defense is the specialty of the South American
armadillos, whose success is confirmed by the family's northward
expansion over the past few million years, leaving two species in
Central America, one of them ranging well into the United States.
Best protected are the two species of three-banded armadillos
(<i>Tolypeutes</i> spp.), which can roll up into perfect plated
spheres. In this painting, the fortification of the species <i>T.
matacus</i> is being tested by a pair of gangly, knock-kneed Maned
Wolves (<i>Chrysocyon brachyurus</i>). These unusual canids of the
South American plains have no close living relatives. Despite their
exceptionally long legs, they are not particularly fleet of foot, but
probably benefit from them by being able to see over tall grass.
Normally solitary hunters, during the breeding season mated couples
often forage together. The Maned Wolf's diet consists of small
mammals, birds, reptiles, insects and fruit. The title of this
painting, “Gostoso,” is a Brazilian soccer cheer, roughly the
Portuguese equivalent of “tasty.” Incidental subjects include
Pampas Grass (<i>Cortaderia argentea</i>), Spiny Tree Lizard
(<i>Tropidurus spinulosus</i>), Yellow-headed Caracara (<i>Milvago
chimachima</i>), spinetail (family Furnariidae) and Black Howler
Monkey (<i>Allouatta caraya</i>).</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;">
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</span><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">ASCENSIÓN--
STRAWBERRY POISON FROG & TADPOLE (2004)<br /><i>acrylic
on illustration board 40” x 15” </i></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMI26O3c33UW0V-CTiUJJgGBaV64DDMrk9FrRT_qnaoITGY0RoD94MQAA76lVL6zI0sL1jDjrwU6IWlzfDMziOwsWAzv24XuTlzUMTU_d8xtDJrsTMVqUjB6cZyNi-4UeSYjL_xhEHjk_w/s1600/cpbvk-ascension-lr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMI26O3c33UW0V-CTiUJJgGBaV64DDMrk9FrRT_qnaoITGY0RoD94MQAA76lVL6zI0sL1jDjrwU6IWlzfDMziOwsWAzv24XuTlzUMTU_d8xtDJrsTMVqUjB6cZyNi-4UeSYjL_xhEHjk_w/s1600/cpbvk-ascension-lr.jpg" width="146" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">To
be evolutionarily successful, an individual organism must produce
offspring that live long enough to produce another generation
themselves. This mandates an investment on the parents' part. One
option is to lay out the energy to produce great quantities of young,
most of which will be eaten by predators or otherwise fail to reach
adulthood. Producing fewer young requires parental care to assure
their long-term survival. Reproductive approaches that produce lots
of young are known as r-strategies, those that depend on parental
care are called K-strategies. Among vertebrates, the frogs exhibit
the greatest diversity of reproductive tactics, including extreme
cases of r- and K-strategies. Most notable of the K-strategists are
the poison frogs of the family Dendrobatidae, a group of beautiful
and tiny diurnal amphibians found throughout the American tropics,
well known for producing complex alkaloid skin secretions. The
Central American Strawberry Poison Frog (<i>Oophaga pumilio</i>)
deposits several eggs on a leaf on the forest floor, which are
guarded by the male. Upon hatching, the tadpoles wriggle onto the
female’s back, and are taxied up the trunk of a tree to a
pre-selected bromeliad, where they are deposited into one of the
water vessels formed within the axils of these arboreal epiphytes.
Every few days, the female lays an unfertilized egg for each of her
offspring to feed upon. Incidental creatures in this painting include
an Agouti (<i>Dasyprocta punctata</i>), a Spectacled Antpitta
(<i>Hylopezus perspicallitus</i>), a Racerunner (<i>Ameiva festiva</i>),
a Lanternbug (<i>Fulgora laternaria</i>), a Leaf-Footed Bug
(<i>Anisosceles</i> sp.), a leafhopper (<i>Umbonia</i> sp.), a Consul
Butterfly (<i>Consul fabius</i>), and numerous ants of the species
<i>Pheidole bicornis</i>, which are dependent upon <i>Piper</i>
trees, like the one immediately behind the frog. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">HARMATTAN HARMONY—BLACK KITE, GRAY</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">PLANTAIN-EATERS & RED-BILLED HORNBILL (2002)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">India ink wash and watercolor on paper 20” x 30”</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0vpB2wBZq-F-JRR6f3pliHlNMLEISGf-RfE_-ShaqNI3BTSDBMfrHN0V20qn9ew8F6seF0eucAOrbK9pA7DeAq_z6bWv3xZjala-Ha7f2d2pB20IMPOGFPm2Te3VIKtyTFPgsgm8HWnt/s1600/cpbvk-harmattanharmony.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680543043306191698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0vpB2wBZq-F-JRR6f3pliHlNMLEISGf-RfE_-ShaqNI3BTSDBMfrHN0V20qn9ew8F6seF0eucAOrbK9pA7DeAq_z6bWv3xZjala-Ha7f2d2pB20IMPOGFPm2Te3VIKtyTFPgsgm8HWnt/s400/cpbvk-harmattanharmony.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 289px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;">
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">Around
the first of December, hot northeastern winds begin to blow fine sand
from the Sahara across the savannas and deciduous scrub woods of
Africa’s Sahel, that transitional zone between the Sahara Desert
and the equatorial forest belt to the south. Thus begins the
Harmattan, a three-month season during which the entire world appears
dingy gray-brown. This annual phenomenon, along with its obverse, the
late-summer southwestern monsoon, are crucial factors in forging the
ecology of the region. Organisms must be able to exploit the bounty
brought by the summer rains and survive the fires and desiccation
wrought by the harsh Harmattan winds. In this painting, three of the
Sahel's most conspicuous avian residents, a Black Kite (<i>Milvus
migrans</i>), two Gray Plantain Eaters (<i>Crinifer piscator</i>),
and a Red-billed Hornbill (<i>Tockus erythrorhynchus</i>) perch among
the naked tree branches that characterize the Harmattan season.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">GREEN IGUANA & LEAF-CUTTER ANTS (2011)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic on illustration board 18” x 24”</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLaDTIqp-JiS-x1-WZKQvTwVcuhmIBzgTwe9Xe2U3tWR3anJDBHi915ht8nXCCMbsBDHl_KD6fMEX3Wa26FmgVFZ9k3HCmuIl5W2tR4v3rmHN8miWMzGncPWbmCkD5xQtel9CsoD9KK-j/s1600/cpbvk-greeniguana%25281%2529lr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683907207629763122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLaDTIqp-JiS-x1-WZKQvTwVcuhmIBzgTwe9Xe2U3tWR3anJDBHi915ht8nXCCMbsBDHl_KD6fMEX3Wa26FmgVFZ9k3HCmuIl5W2tR4v3rmHN8miWMzGncPWbmCkD5xQtel9CsoD9KK-j/s400/cpbvk-greeniguana(1)lr.JPG" style="display: block; height: 302px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""ms reference sans" serif , sans-serif">One
of the best-known denizens of the Neotropics, the Green Iguana
(<i>Iguana iguana</i>) is a large and successful herbivorous lizard
found in a variety of forest types from Mexico to Paraguay.
Approaching the iguana in familiarity are the 50 or so species of
leaf-cutter ant, which share the lizard's expansive range. The
species shown is Atta cephalotes. Leaf-cutter ants are unusual, but
not unique among insects in their practice of agriculture. Four
different types of workers maintain the colony. The largest type, the
majors, function as soldiers, defending the colony from marauders.
Next in size are the mediae, which spend the day foraging for fresh
leaves, which they cut into nickel-sized pieces and bring back to the
colony. The sight of a mass of green leaf fragments moving slowly
across the forest floor, tilting rhythmically back and forth like
butterfly wings, is a common delight of New World forests. Attending
the mediae are the smaller minors and minims,which protect the
foraging phalanx from predators and parasites. Inside the
subterranean nests, the minim workers crush the leaves, which serve
as a growing medium for fungi of the family Lepiotaceae, which feed
the colony. Incidental subjects include the spectacular monocot
<i>Heliconia pogonantha</i>, a Red-capped Manakin (<i>Pipra mentalis</i>)
and the butterfly <i>Antirrhea pterocopha</i>.<br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">LANJAK DAWN—CROWNED FLYING LIZARDS & ORANG-UTAN (2009)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 20" x 30" </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45ZHa41yU9WMbAgJajPUJ2GwIFY06mq3C1f9aVo6IvYhCZRGaqI26goqlV34XRL-K6X1ezhuBtDPMvBy6RqCUsytSCSPveYh7flyAR9LgWPXCKSHfoD28pM5zXscD1H-j6Jr1bbzUawg/s1600/cpbvk-lanjakdawn-lo.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567038468815436418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45ZHa41yU9WMbAgJajPUJ2GwIFY06mq3C1f9aVo6IvYhCZRGaqI26goqlV34XRL-K6X1ezhuBtDPMvBy6RqCUsytSCSPveYh7flyAR9LgWPXCKSHfoD28pM5zXscD1H-j6Jr1bbzUawg/s400/cpbvk-lanjakdawn-lo.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 263px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">One of
the biggest difficulties with an arboreal lifestyle is getting
around. Even in the thickest forests, the canopy is rife with gaps
between individual trees, caused by wind abrasion. This phenomenon,
known as crown shyness, discourages transmission of tree pathogens,
permits light into the understory, and facilitates tree respiration.
It also seriously complicates life for arboreal animals that need to
disperse and forage without descending to the dangerous forest floor.
This problem has spurred many different animal groups to
independently evolve patagia, or flying membranes, to enable them to
glide across these gaps. Among the most accomplished forest gliders
are the twenty or so lizard species known appropriately as flying
lizards (<i>Draco</i> spp.), which are distributed throughout
Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Five or six pairs of false ribs
support their flying membranes, which enable them to glide for many
yards with amazing dexterity. I’ve seen them launch themselves from
a tree, turn around, then return to the same trunk. In addition to
their primary function, these often brilliantly colored patagia are
frequently employed as signals to communicate with conspecifics.
Towards the end of the dry season, the males establish territories,
actively guard them, and begin displaying for females by extending
their long throat dewlap and one or both patagia. The Crowned Flying
Lizard (<i>D. cornutus</i>) ranges in wooded areas on Borneo,
Sumatra, western Java and the Bunguran and Sulu Archipelagos, where
it forages among the treetops for the ants and termites that make up
the bulk of its diet. In southern Sarawak, I found them in hilly,
secondary forest. In the background of this painting, a large male
Orang-utan (<i>Pongo pygmaeus</i>) calls from his sleeping nest.
Other incidental creatures include a bark orb-web spider (<i>Caerostris</i>
sp.), ants of the genus <i>Bothriomyrmex</i>, a lanternbug (<i>Fulgora</i>
sp.), a Malaysian Bushbrown (<i>Mycalesis fusca</i>) and a Black and
Yellow Broadbill (<i>Eurylaimus ochromalus</i>).</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">HARPY EAGLE & THREE-TOED SLOTH (2005)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">oil triptych on linen 36" x 36"; 36" x 36"; 36" x 36"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhqTij_1IBAkRYkNdExqy_OaYh625ej0prfgW5a-857MMnv1vdrmwb-EEQoAQiCk7m0H3oAdRVNW3YDwt-7ig2XTiUFl6hRDxLoEeerGvkd8OWLKl-voypNSsi4MTmu_Igj7rtYL2Bnv1r/s1600/cpbvk-Harpytriptych.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680572903819276402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhqTij_1IBAkRYkNdExqy_OaYh625ej0prfgW5a-857MMnv1vdrmwb-EEQoAQiCk7m0H3oAdRVNW3YDwt-7ig2XTiUFl6hRDxLoEeerGvkd8OWLKl-voypNSsi4MTmu_Igj7rtYL2Bnv1r/s400/cpbvk-Harpytriptych.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 180px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Within the order of birds, no more powerful predator exists than the Harpy Eagle (<span style="font-style: italic;">Harpia harpyja</span>).
A large hen can weigh as much as twenty pounds. Long-tailed and
surprisingly agile for such a massive bird, this uncommon eagle hunts
monkeys, sloths, agoutis and other similarly-sized mammals throughout
the tropical rainforests of the New World, flying in short sprints and
rarely venturing above the forest canopy, except during nesting, when an
eyrie high in an emergent tree cradles the single egg. The Harpy's
terrible feet are unmatched in size and power: four brutal toes drive
three-inch talons deep into the quarry's vital organs. Here the
unfortunate victim is a Three-toed Sloth (<span style="font-style: italic;">Bradypus infuscatus</span>), a well-known and common rainforest mammal, plucked from its favorite food source, a Cecropia tree.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US"></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">GREATER ROAD-RUNNERS & CANYON TOWHEE (2011)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 15" x40"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_ui-ZgY6CGsYclXQgW9oRRKEFsnNQiouAhwqnSOxN0-LGewImOe7BjdWFhEfgQ9rE3ooJAjteqvksba9lo1Bh1jAt0MkDX6897Auq06D9lPk0scQn97za_Ddm3o-e4wpQM92Q9QVAI5f/s1600/greaterroadrunners.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621197467210926386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_ui-ZgY6CGsYclXQgW9oRRKEFsnNQiouAhwqnSOxN0-LGewImOe7BjdWFhEfgQ9rE3ooJAjteqvksba9lo1Bh1jAt0MkDX6897Auq06D9lPk0scQn97za_Ddm3o-e4wpQM92Q9QVAI5f/s400/greaterroadrunners.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 150px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The
cuckoos are an ancient and fascinating bird group that is at least 40
million years old. This group never seemed to produce any powerful
fliers, and had a tendency to evolve into running forms. Despite
this, it managed to colonize Australia, New Guinea and Madagascar.
Many cuckoos are brood parasites, meaning they lay their eggs in the
nests of other birds, to be raised by “Foster parents,” but this
is by no means universal. Cuckoos exhibit a variety of parenting
strategies, including cooperative parenting in the anis and role
reversal and polyandry in some of the coucals. Among the many cuckoo
taxa are the Old World coucals, the Madagascan couas, the Asian
malkohas, the American anis and perhaps the African turacos...maybe
even the bizarre South American Hoatzin (<i>Opisthocomus
hoazin</i>). Also included is that icon of the desert southwest, the Greater
Roadrunner (<i>Geococcyx californianus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">),
one of two members of a genus found in Mexico and the southwestern
U.S. The two species look and behave similarly, but the larger,
northern one has a longer bill and prefers more open country.
Roadrunners are omnivores, feeding on fruits and seeds as well as
large invertebrates, reptiles and small birds and mammals, which they
run down. Most of the situations I paint are hypothetical but
plausible, but this piece was based upon an event I witnessed in
California's Anza Borrego State Park: a roadrunner carrying a small
dead bird was running in the haphazard, zig-zag evasive mode typical
of its species, barely keeping half a step ahead of the mobbing of
two others. Unfortunately, distinguishing whether any of the
fast-moving birds were adults or juveniles was beyond my capacity,
and identifying the sex of a roadrunner under any circumstances
requires nearly supernatural powers. My assumption is that I watched
either two juveniles chasing a parent or a mated pair chasing a
young, inexperienced bird. The former scenario is probably most
likely, but it was the latter that I selected to commit to
illustration board. I was unable as well to identify the focal point
of the fracas, but decided that one of the nondescript brown towhees
would serve as good a candidate as any. While taking artistic
liberties, I also moved the setting slightly east, to the Sonoran
Desert, and painted the scrub towhee of that region, the Canyon
Towhee (</span><i>Pipilo fuscus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">).</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">SOUTHERN CROSS—PENNANT-WINGED NIGHTJAR (1998)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">India ink wash on paper 23” x 17”</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxV0TNJ9WNcThGs9Sz7BkJOlrJy9BOPvnmMX3DDP1FX6sWGHViJIQMdA47apvwv_uD7f_r8sPBaS7RI_O7-GDIB_YKMyaFPYrrC91Z9h_KGB0j3RhCJ7me8qCGQxkHEsHlSYSHLp_YkNZ/s1600/cpbvk-southerncross-lr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680566997399822114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxV0TNJ9WNcThGs9Sz7BkJOlrJy9BOPvnmMX3DDP1FX6sWGHViJIQMdA47apvwv_uD7f_r8sPBaS7RI_O7-GDIB_YKMyaFPYrrC91Z9h_KGB0j3RhCJ7me8qCGQxkHEsHlSYSHLp_YkNZ/s400/cpbvk-southerncross-lr.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 288px;" />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">A crucial ingredient to evolutionary success is the ability to find and attract
a high-quality mate. This is so important that it's caused many
animals, usually the males, to evolve outlandish ornamentation that
is attractive indeed, but downright dangerous, too. Think of the
peacock's long train that slows down his flight and impedes his
ability to run through thick brush. Because really big ornaments are
so risky, they almost always evolve in temporary integumentary
derivatives like feathers that can be shed as soon as possible after
the eggs have been fertilized. Among nature's most spectacular
breeding adornments are the wings of the male Pennant-winged Nightjar
(<i>Cosmetornis vexillarius</i><span style="font-style: normal;">)
of southern Africa. His inner primary feathers form a pair of
“pennants” that can trail over two feet behind him. During his
nuptial display he flies in low circles, emitting a strange
katydid-like twitter. Finding an exposed perch like the termitarium
in this painting, he then spreads his wings, slowly rotating them.
Soon after breeding, the inner-most primary is dropped, but the rest
of his moult does not continue until after the migration north of the
equator for the austral winter, which often is executed in flocks. A
member of the same order that includes the American nighthawks and
whip-poor-wills, the Pennant-winged Nightjar feeds in the manner
characteristic of the group, on insects captured in flight.</span></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">VARIOUS CENTRAL AMERICAN BUTTERFLIES (2003)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">watercolor on bristol board 10” x 36”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintHw0wNl5Brq4VVR9fW7-FfCOgvGuyuGQF9cwHGcF_FUCWpTdcB-E-VULxn5ouJcv9rq2oDz5PT2c82WJo3jD8xW7aAmr01NOeC8HXWpS3OLbxAzrI2bKPgdlhkixzNCBOOr2UvH5xg7j/s1600/cpbvk-variouscentral.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680569082962708162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintHw0wNl5Brq4VVR9fW7-FfCOgvGuyuGQF9cwHGcF_FUCWpTdcB-E-VULxn5ouJcv9rq2oDz5PT2c82WJo3jD8xW7aAmr01NOeC8HXWpS3OLbxAzrI2bKPgdlhkixzNCBOOr2UvH5xg7j/s400/cpbvk-variouscentral.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 102px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">These
seven butterflies were selected and copied life-size from field studies
in my Central American sketchbooks from 1992-'93. Both dorsal (upper)
and ventral (under) views are shown. <span style="font-style: italic;">Lycorea cleobaea</span> was a roadkill from Golfito, Costa Rica. <span style="font-style: italic;">Opsiphanes tamarindii</span> was found drowned in Lake Nicaragua. <span style="font-style: italic;">Morpho peleides</span> was found dead at La Selva Biological Station, near Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. <span style="font-style: italic;">Caligo illioneus</span> was roadkilled near Tocumén, Panama, a fate shared by <span style="font-style: italic;">Papilio thoas</span> in Chiriquí Grande, Panama, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Colobura dirce</span> near Esparza, Costa Rica. <span style="font-style: italic;">Callicore peralta</span> was found dead on Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">GELADA (1998)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 26” x 10”</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5viu6cYyEN_WmRx6pRewVaODOb7lVcjhq2amEo9IdUAWGh16yeLR4nfitA1Iu_QjQzzamY3ojQ2ZprLyYCaTUy1yN2YGsG9mYzm-wotvHw0jduqiPYjW3L6zsGwuTMZ7vvqgYyMVizZmX/s1600/cpbvk-gelada-lr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680549050087429570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5viu6cYyEN_WmRx6pRewVaODOb7lVcjhq2amEo9IdUAWGh16yeLR4nfitA1Iu_QjQzzamY3ojQ2ZprLyYCaTUy1yN2YGsG9mYzm-wotvHw0jduqiPYjW3L6zsGwuTMZ7vvqgYyMVizZmX/s400/cpbvk-gelada-lr.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 149px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">A large and unusual monkey restricted to the mountains of central Ethiopia is the Gelada (<span style="font-style: italic;">Theropithecus gelada</span>).
Like that of its close relatives the baboons and drills, Gelada social
structure is very complex and dynamic. In this species the social units
seem to be held together mostly by the bonds between individuals of the
same sex, especially females, who tend to associate more among
themselves. Nights are spent sleeping on the faces of rocky gorges,
where the animals feel secure and from where they never stray far.
During the day they forage for grasses, from which they derive
practically all of their nourishment -- a diet unique among primates.
The adult male is easily distinguished by his long golden mane and
whiskers, and a red triangle of bare skin framed by short grizzled fur
on his chest. Perching elsewhere on the cliff are a lizard (<span style="font-style: italic;">Agama</span> sp.) and a Pectinator (<span style="font-style: italic;">Pectinator spekei</span>), an unusual rodent distantly related to the Chinchilla.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">COAST HORNED LIZARD (1998)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 21" x 30"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj90d-xREkvNpufdkExOAEprTyGOT96EG41RwcJNPTE7pB6yENPiPLG57eKZo-ss6Nkomccl6dNx4SVyrZiUYd_a6rg1mD2HnkgwNvRmz32ioASIa-bLMmjTYrhs-odl0Jg-d9JDQyt_K-R/s1600/07-coasthorned.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577134722226484658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj90d-xREkvNpufdkExOAEprTyGOT96EG41RwcJNPTE7pB6yENPiPLG57eKZo-ss6Nkomccl6dNx4SVyrZiUYd_a6rg1mD2HnkgwNvRmz32ioASIa-bLMmjTYrhs-odl0Jg-d9JDQyt_K-R/s400/07-coasthorned.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 269px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This piece was designed to look as austere as the Mojave desert that it depicts. The subject, a Coast Horned Lizard (<i>Phrynosoma coronatum</i>) is centered on the board within very simple arcking lines, eating honey ants (<span style="text-decoration: none;"><i>Myrmecocystus</i> sp.</span>), ants being the usual horned lizard fare. A total of fourteen species of horned lizards populate most of western North America, from southern British Columbia to Guatemala. They are a pretty uniform lot, small lizards (the giant among them is a Mexican brute of eight inches), flattened and covered with spines. The species depicted and one other are known to have the ability to squirt a potential predator with blood issued from the corner of their eye. This capacity was reported for over a century in popular lore and has been doubted by many, and only recently confirmed conclusively. The response seems to be an anti-coyote device, which accounts for the usual inability for non-canid creatures like us to elicit it. </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">GOLDEN EAGLE & PRAIRIE FALCON (2011)<br />India ink wash on paper 22" x 15"</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVQQ9FjSiDP5bfn-Y6hD-XacZ8PIb8ZIFVQ2g8FpWMLkprEz_jj9QHcJQ6rPCFcszv1oOdJ-xkYMDLs76QQ5fN4uV0364vgUg5BcSqiBEvO6NAynE2m3tHI_N0HnZ_OepgJFLSbCDaIXR/s1600/cpbvk-prairie-falcon-eagle-adjJPG.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVQQ9FjSiDP5bfn-Y6hD-XacZ8PIb8ZIFVQ2g8FpWMLkprEz_jj9QHcJQ6rPCFcszv1oOdJ-xkYMDLs76QQ5fN4uV0364vgUg5BcSqiBEvO6NAynE2m3tHI_N0HnZ_OepgJFLSbCDaIXR/s320/cpbvk-prairie-falcon-eagle-adjJPG.jpg" width="244" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""ms reference sans" serif , sans-serif">The
powerful Golden Eagle (<i>Aquila chrysaeotos</i>) is holarctic in
distribution, meaning it is found across the northern hemisphere. In
North America, it is mostly a creature of the west, and is largely a
predator of jackrabbits (<i>Lepus</i> spp.), but it is an adaptable
hunter that will exploit what is available. Its large size confers
upon its flight an illusion of lethargy, but in reality, it is a
swift and commanding aerialist capable of taking a variety of flying
prey. Mated pairs often hunt cooperatively, adding a level of
advantage in such situations. I know of a pair in Utah that feed
almost exclusively on Ravens (<i>Corvus corax</i>). Here, a Prairie
Falcon (<i>Falco mexicanus</i>), North America's large desert falcon,
evades the stoop of a marauding Golden. </span></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">JAGUAR & COLLARED PECCARIES (1994)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">oil 32" x 42"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRY5l_1Tid2cQZ9xsgJul7_EBxGuDToN0ZC1-GNSrCfG3hw04Chvatk3sZMF8MiTKmy2wWNVFfWB_0Yts_CJk9M-1X0cpaxMav8xY_KPIyQHogd9CiHmwJT-pbhZZ8TPXVHymJm0YVadD/s1600/11-jaguar.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577136444602756242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRY5l_1Tid2cQZ9xsgJul7_EBxGuDToN0ZC1-GNSrCfG3hw04Chvatk3sZMF8MiTKmy2wWNVFfWB_0Yts_CJk9M-1X0cpaxMav8xY_KPIyQHogd9CiHmwJT-pbhZZ8TPXVHymJm0YVadD/s400/11-jaguar.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 301px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The only modern big cat of the New World, the Jaguar (<i>Panthera onca</i>) ranges from northern Argentina to the southwestern U.S. Until the end of the Pleistocene, it occurred throughout the southeastern states, and seems to have been especially common in Florida. Over the past century, its presence north of Mexico has probably consisted of little more than occasional young males dispersing from Mexico. An old male Jaguar that had roamed southern Arizona for a number of years died in 2009. These cats are generalist predators, feeding on a wide range of quarry, but in the northern part of their range, the piglike Collared Peccary (<i>Pecari tajacu</i>) or Javelina is by far the most important. Here, one of these great cats prepares to charge a group of peccaries in a deciduous scrub forest. The colors and lighting of this habitat, especially during the dry season, when many of the trees have lost their leaves, are quite peculiar unto themselves and inspired me to try to characterize them with this sort of “hyper-pointilism” technique.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">DUSKY-GILLED
MUDSKIPPERS (2009)</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US"><i><br />acrylic
on illustration board 6” x 12”</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_r70guH7AMOe6wkJsw6i7ynhz-c7MAmjkFC2n0lpF8_eFBCFXS0POP-sBxZCwd4Tq8_3mMiumSb42v-KdIpHrj_A8eCNH1C8ZEEr39_shvbqwozzz2Y35WQPskxQY8sPMN3ZiEib26DF/s1600/cpbvk-duskygilled.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_r70guH7AMOe6wkJsw6i7ynhz-c7MAmjkFC2n0lpF8_eFBCFXS0POP-sBxZCwd4Tq8_3mMiumSb42v-KdIpHrj_A8eCNH1C8ZEEr39_shvbqwozzz2Y35WQPskxQY8sPMN3ZiEib26DF/s1600/cpbvk-duskygilled.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">Life
began in the sea and remained there for over 3 billion years. It's
learned to thrive on land just as well, but occupying the intertidal
zone, that strip between the two, continues to be a difficult trick,
both ecologically and physiologically. High salinity, fluctuating
tides, silty soils that are low in oxygen and nutrients, and harsh
sunlight combine to make this territory a complicated and difficult
living habitat. Among fish, the best adapted to this zone are the
mudskippers, a subfamily of Old World tropical gobies. Capable of
breathing air through their skin and mouth linings, mudskippers flop
about the beach at low tide, foraging for small arthropods. At high
tide, they mostly retreat to underwater burrows, where low oxygen and
high ammonia levels would quickly kill most fish. This painting
depicts a common Southeast Asian species, the three-inch long
Dusky-gilled Mudskipper (<i>Periophthalmus novemradiatus</i>). Like
most mudskippers, it is usually associated with mangroves, or
intertidally adapted trees. Around 45 species of trees in ten genera
and five families constitute the true mangroves, but plants from over
a dozen other families are usually lumped into the designation as
well, including a palm, a screwpine and a sedge. The many adaptations
evolved by mangrove trees include numerous systems for storing gases
and nutrients, and branching stilt roots and pneumatophores or
“breathing tubes” rising from under the ground. Roots and stems
are highly impervious to salts, and some species have evolved special
glands for excreting excess salts. Many species engage in
photosensitive leaf movements to limit evaporation. Mangroves form
the basis for rich intertidal ecosystems called mangrove swaps or
mangals. Incidental species in this painting include a fiddler crab
(<i>Uca</i> sp.), hermit crab (<i>Dardanus</i> sp.), a Reef Heron
(<i>Egretta sacra</i>), terns (<i>Sterna</i> spp.) and a Lesser
Frigatebird (<i>Fregata ariel</i>).</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">GREAT PIED HORNBILL (2001)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 30” x 20” </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJL2_pPq-iArV6EXsgRn6ArUOlSMkLrDQYxAncrL46CESaucfAhhtntYsqGYQDnRRxVm1bdlEpx4vi0FGDTEAK35R5K6BftT2h5-h25cmIBgtXJzFqydq6Sxqjz7AHp7dF2M50BCJ4MQ/s1600/cpbvk-greatpied-lr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567049503332656866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJL2_pPq-iArV6EXsgRn6ArUOlSMkLrDQYxAncrL46CESaucfAhhtntYsqGYQDnRRxVm1bdlEpx4vi0FGDTEAK35R5K6BftT2h5-h25cmIBgtXJzFqydq6Sxqjz7AHp7dF2M50BCJ4MQ/s400/cpbvk-greatpied-lr.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 265px;" /></a></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The hornbills comprise a family of tropical Old World birds
that are related to kingfishers but very similar in appearance and
habits to the New World toucans, which are more closely related to
woodpeckers. This is one of many examples in nature of convergent
evolution, where two unrelated animals occupying similar niches
evolve similar forms. Harder to explain is the fact that through much
of their range in Asia, hornbills are known by the Malay name
“tucan,” the same name given to their South American analogs by
the Tupi Indians. Probably the best known hornbill is the Great Pied
Hornbill (<i>Buceros bicornis</i>), which ranges from India through
Sumatra and has been a rather common aviary bird for many years,
having been bred in captivity since 1953. Like most hornbills, these
are essentially forest birds, exploiting a number of different forest
types up to an elevation of about 2000 meters. Usually occurring in
pairs or small family parties, these birds sometimes congregate in
groups of over one hundred to feed in large fruiting trees. Fruits,
mostly figs, make up the bulk of their diet. During the breeding
season the male bolsters the growing nestling's protein supply by
delivering extra animal matter to the nest hole, where the female
remains sealed until the chick is about half grown.
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">GREAT HELMETED HORNBILL (1998)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic on illustration board 30” x 20”</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlM7rqFV871aR__Mo0PIwzAk7NTTLASGlQYCCrk1IimvU76J1DgwOLIxwMWajriGBYTxnQImduaRpH23cxnTTKFCwx51tK_ZKIg7NNyne61RkQsBo-0_6bgGUm4gFGQeXXtcrpebEOj6RG/s1600/Buceros-vigil-bvk.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680546271979205906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlM7rqFV871aR__Mo0PIwzAk7NTTLASGlQYCCrk1IimvU76J1DgwOLIxwMWajriGBYTxnQImduaRpH23cxnTTKFCwx51tK_ZKIg7NNyne61RkQsBo-0_6bgGUm4gFGQeXXtcrpebEOj6RG/s400/Buceros-vigil-bvk.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 257px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The massive casques adorning the beaks of many hornbill species contain mostly air, but the Great Helmeted Hornbill (<span style="font-style: italic;">Rhinoplax vigil</span>)
of Southeast Asia has a casque of solid ivory. The function of this
heavy ornament is the subject of some conjecture; it certainly makes
flight more difficult, even with the counterbalancing effect of
elongated central tail feathers. It has also resulted quite literally in
a price being put on the birds' heads, which are coveted by Chinese
artisans who for centuries have used them to create delicate carvings
known as ho-ting. Some authorities claim that the males have "jousting"
contests. Perhaps the extra inertia helps them peck away loose bark in
search of prey. My own objective with this piece was simply to depict
the effort necessary to hoist the bird's skull into the air. At the
bottom of the field a startled Crested Lizard (<span style="font-style: italic;">Bronchocela cristatella</span>) scampers away as a Little Spiderhunter (<span style="font-style: italic;">Arachnothera longirostra</span>) forages amongst the foliage.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">MALAYSIAN RHINOCEROS HORNBILL (2003)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic on illustration board 18” x 30”</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-vIjPZGub1xCYtZ0p4VK6NaCc_0NGIqiOTymtaWdXbusv_1Re4b55ZTvOm0-O92V33mnlD0kM6G8O3enZOuynznLqVNn6YclqQO7NtQWmm1cWg2py8Cr03jMEKz_k5Hm2i9p8FrX1jN-/s1600/cpbvk-malaysianrhinolr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680567850670802546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-vIjPZGub1xCYtZ0p4VK6NaCc_0NGIqiOTymtaWdXbusv_1Re4b55ZTvOm0-O92V33mnlD0kM6G8O3enZOuynznLqVNn6YclqQO7NtQWmm1cWg2py8Cr03jMEKz_k5Hm2i9p8FrX1jN-/s400/cpbvk-malaysianrhinolr.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 238px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In
the forests of the Sunda Shelf, from peninsular Malaysia through
Sumatra, Java and Borneo, the braying calls and loud, huffing wingbeats
of the Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) are familiar sounds.
Both sexes sport a large orange casque on the bill. This hollow ornament
is larger in the male bird, and varies in shape among three distinct
races: one on Java, one on Borneo, and one on Sumatra and the Malay
Peninsula. In this painting a large male hops along a tree branch with a
fig, possibly to present it to a mate walled up inside her nesting
hole. This hopping gait is common among smaller perching birds, but I
can think of no other bird as large as a hornbill that habitually moves
in this fashion. Incidental creatures in this painting include a Slender
Squirrel (Sundasciurus tenuis), a small flock of Oriental White-eyes
(Zosterops palpebrosus), a Long-horned Beetle (Batocera sp.) and a
Common Mormon Swallowtail (Papilio polytes).</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">PHANTOMS OF THE MOJAVE—BANDED GECKO (2010)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 20" x 15"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6zLQgJdIL3V8ZKYvn3-hWbnaMsBUJz_jXAbs-Uy8SW4XVTgLNMzY_aMMXP3kJg5P7xoTERJHpB1oYfOypNl3YiIc5dEI1L4xNZru9mEoK37XWesKlUY_2eOqCvdiPs1kqfliseLOPmKRx/s1600/12-phantoms.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577137020699814162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6zLQgJdIL3V8ZKYvn3-hWbnaMsBUJz_jXAbs-Uy8SW4XVTgLNMzY_aMMXP3kJg5P7xoTERJHpB1oYfOypNl3YiIc5dEI1L4xNZru9mEoK37XWesKlUY_2eOqCvdiPs1kqfliseLOPmKRx/s400/12-phantoms.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">One
of North America's most interesting waterways is the Virgin River,
which flows out of southwestern Utah to form part of the
Arizona-Nevada border before emptying into Lake Mead. It represents a
northerly extrusion of the Mojave Desert ecological community which
meets the Great Basin zone to the northwest and the Colorado Plateau
to the northeast. It hosts numerous species of plants and animals
that are found nowhere else, eight of them considered endangered. The
river and its gorge extend the ranges of dozens of other species a
hundred or more miles to the north. This painting depicts four Virgin
River specialties. The Western Banded Gecko (<i>Coleonyx variegatus</i>)
occurs in a number of desert habitats. This strictly nocturnal lizard
remains well hidden until after dark. On moonlit nights its
translucent body almost gleams, and it's easy to spot as it stalks
its arthropod prey, its tail writhing, catlike. Here the lizard
descends the woody skeleton of a dead Silver Cholla (<i>Cylindropuntia
echinocarpa</i>) before the nocturnal, trumpet-like blossom of a
Western Jimsonweed (<i>Datura wrightii</i>), well-known for its toxic
and hallucinatory effects caused by the alkaloids atropine and
scopolamine. Also visible is a Jimson Beetle (<i>Lema daturaphila</i>),
the adults and larvae of which feed on Jimsonweed and other members
of the potato family, Solanaceae.</span></span></span></span><br />
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</span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">REANIMATION—COMMON POORWILL </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 30" x 20"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTgjgcLMZh83J29jrsOaUY_K3i-vxJbHEki11KSjgzKSLpi4-WuxuoJyG7ECrxGOlMV9SIvFt2ifDA5kZ_AhYczpLweWtxU-xJZmRymhIbbzcIgaPCj7DWXYTo2_JrLgL8wBvcl-TRQ7Mk/s1600/13-reanimation.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577137705275304770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTgjgcLMZh83J29jrsOaUY_K3i-vxJbHEki11KSjgzKSLpi4-WuxuoJyG7ECrxGOlMV9SIvFt2ifDA5kZ_AhYczpLweWtxU-xJZmRymhIbbzcIgaPCj7DWXYTo2_JrLgL8wBvcl-TRQ7Mk/s400/13-reanimation.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 267px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Hibernation is one of the more effective strategies temperate animals have developed to survive winter's cold temperatures and lack of food resources. Many birds, bats and even insects opt instead for seasonal migration, exploiting distant habitats during different seasons. A few, like the Monarch Butterfly (<i>Danaus plexippus</i>) and the Poorwill (<i>Phalaenoptilus nuttallii</i>) use a combination of the two. Poorwills, relatives of nighthawks, breed in arid parts of western North America from southern Canada into northern Mexico; northern individuals seem to winter in the desert southwest. A number of bird species use daily torpor to minimize energy loss during cool nights or brief bad weather. Members of three related orders, the goatsuckers, hummingbirds and possibly the swifts, all show some abilities at metabolic adjustment, but none to the degree of the little Poorwill, which, in addition to its natural tendencies toward torpor, feeds heavily on beetles, rich in polyunsaturated fats, which remain liquid and metabolically available at low temperatures. In the laboratory, Poorwills have been observed sustaining periods of torpor for over 80 days, and in the wild as long as 25 days. A shallow shelter, open to the southern sun is selected: a patch of cactus or rock niche to which the bird develops substantial fidelity. After sundown, the torpid Poorwill's body temperature begins to fall, until the ambient temperature reaches 5.5?C, an apparent optimum hibernating level which the bird tries to maintain. Solar radiation raises the body temperature daily, presumably allowing the option to forage during warm nights. I know of no human witnesses to a Poorwill rousing from torpor in the wild, but I imagine the bird backing out of his shelter to fully bask in the final evening rays, periodically flapping his wings to elevate his body temperature. It's not known how severe a winter these birds can survive, but a sufficient winter insect population, rather than temperature, is probably the limiting factor. Instead of showing the kind of country where Poorwills are known to commonly winter, I tried in this painting to depict a habitat in the harshest extreme that I could imagine the bird toughing out. Also shown reviving are Glacier Lilies (<i>Erythronium grandiflora</i>), Convergent Ladybird Beetles (<i>Hippodamia convergens</i>), Western Boxelder Bug (<i>Boisea rubrolineata</i>), and snowfleas (<i>Hypogastrura</i> sp.), cold-adapted springtails that climb onto the snow's surface to feed on algae.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span lang="en-US"><span face=""ms reference sans" serif , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">BAT-EARED
FOX (2006)<br /><i>acrylic
on illustration board 20” x 10”</i></span></span></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLOxjzV3RBolPoptII_SfhF0LckStOTSE1dvWFfCUV9gytwpEio_TBiPIJd8_i4J_0Q7jqjun4GCTJdD8pYsAFa9Ma-ZOf5e-n6N4cB3IIbXvAlvnhpmGE5o5snIv_eLRumfYFO56Yoej/s1600/CPBvK-Batearedfox.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLOxjzV3RBolPoptII_SfhF0LckStOTSE1dvWFfCUV9gytwpEio_TBiPIJd8_i4J_0Q7jqjun4GCTJdD8pYsAFa9Ma-ZOf5e-n6N4cB3IIbXvAlvnhpmGE5o5snIv_eLRumfYFO56Yoej/s1600/CPBvK-Batearedfox.JPG" width="155" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span lang="en-US"><span face=""ms reference sans" serif , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i><br /></i></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The
evolutionary history of the dog family is a complex puzzle that poses
many interesting questions. Zoologists have traditionally relied on
physical features alone to piece together phylogenetic relationships
between living animals, but the recent advent of molecular analysis
has forced a lot of rethinking of evolutionary affinities. The
peculiar little Bat-eared Fox (<i>Otocyon megalotis</i><span style="font-style: normal;">)
is one of a number of modern canids that appear to have no close
relatives. Because of its primitive-looking teeth, which are very
small and numerous, it was long considered to represent an ancient
line. Chromosomal studies, though, suggest that its odd dentition
resulted from a fairly recent mutation, and that the species arose
from an ancient fox lineage that also gave rise to the similar Fennec
(</span><i>Fennecus zerda</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) of
North Africa and the cat-like American gray foxes (</span><i>Urocyon</i>
<span style="font-style: normal;">spp.). Bat-eared Foxes are found in
African steppes and savannas from Ethiopia and Angola south. Capable
diggers, they excavate complex tunnel networks where they escape from
heat and enemies and raise their litters of two to six pups. They
feed on insects, mostly termites, with occasional vertebrate
supplements.</span></span> </span></span></span></span>
</div>
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</span><span style="color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">STARGAZING--PEREGRINE FALCON (2008)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">India ink wash on paper 15" x 24"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KM09KQtGWMbn_SpsCXG874tsZrHx5CJRIdZSvblbdC4_vB62GE_ViDTmQJJWcmdRdoR-yHMc2pfD8EISBhIfN6c0UmOSv6CeJqNsmjMXlAhhZC3f4SJfB9kRAiybM8t36b1_KThDLDsR/s1600/14-stargazing11.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577140662146443250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KM09KQtGWMbn_SpsCXG874tsZrHx5CJRIdZSvblbdC4_vB62GE_ViDTmQJJWcmdRdoR-yHMc2pfD8EISBhIfN6c0UmOSv6CeJqNsmjMXlAhhZC3f4SJfB9kRAiybM8t36b1_KThDLDsR/s400/14-stargazing11.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">Damage
to a bird's central nervous system from injury or poisoning often
manifests itself in a behavior known as stargazing. Affected birds
exhibit unsteadiness and a backwards craning of the head. Terrible
though this gesture appears, it does not always herald doom for its
sufferer; it can be a symptom of numerous temporary or transitory
maladies. Animals like the cosmopolitan Peregrine Falcon (<i>Falco
peregrinus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">), which feeds heavily
on seabirds, are especially prone to poisoning by persistent
environmental toxins, by virtue of their place in the feeding
hierarchy. Rains wash poisons into the sea, where they accumulate in
organisms and concentrate as they rise from one trophic level to
another. For example, the mercury level in the tissues of a
population of medium-sized fish can be expected to be far higher than
that in the population of small fish they feed upon, and far lower
than in the big fish that feed upon them. During the 1950s and '60s,
many populations of Peregrine Falcons crashed due to poisoning from
the persistent pesticide DDT, which stimulated production of two
enzymes in the birds that broke down calcium carbonate, the compound
that forms eggshells. The resulting thin-shelled eggs usually broke
before hatching. The worldwide banning of DDT for agricultural use
and a rigorous captive breeding and reintroduction program have
restored this bird back to healthy numbers.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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</span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">DISCOURAGER
OF HESITANCY--KING-IN-HIS-CARRIAGE ORCHIDS (2012)<br /><i>acrylic
on illustration board 15” x 7½” </i></span></span></span></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVJGS6vnDkKMGIQgSKgB2YLvwsnluSOoUPvLD1Pln1q4UXH_Mtb2MEAiGAcjV1ee32kNjhXeiPbkP2Tp0d1S3zHOqFcoEpFgtGDq2a5aCJo8JVpajdn6q9IEt03wxlKUCNSFzbv8X0b7k/s1600/cpbvk-discourager-lr.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVJGS6vnDkKMGIQgSKgB2YLvwsnluSOoUPvLD1Pln1q4UXH_Mtb2MEAiGAcjV1ee32kNjhXeiPbkP2Tp0d1S3zHOqFcoEpFgtGDq2a5aCJo8JVpajdn6q9IEt03wxlKUCNSFzbv8X0b7k/s1600/cpbvk-discourager-lr.JPG" width="161" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">For
plants, sex is largely a crapshoot. Early flowering plants increased
the odds of transferring their male gametes to a receptive ovary from
the appropriate species by producing nectar to lure insects and other
mobile animals that inadvertently transported pollen from one plant
to another. This made it possible to invest less energy to producing
masses of pollen, but producing nectar is also energy-intensive.
Certain plants living in nutrient-poor conditions circumvented this
problem by deceiving their pollinators. This strategy has become
especially elaborate in the orchid family, where thousands of species
rely on pollinators that are lured to the flowers by color and/or
scent cues, without the nectar payoff. A European orchid genus and
nine Australian ones are known to use sexual deception. In these
cases, a male wasp must try to copulate with the flower in order to
pick up pollen and to transfer it as well. The flowers produce
pheremones attractive to an insect, each orchid species attracting a
different insect species. In some cases, the exact same compound is
produced by orchid and wasp, and is found nowhere else in nature. The
flower also bears some physical resemblance to a female insect. The
little hammer orchids (<i>Drakaea</i> spp.) of southwestern Australia
attract wasps of the family Thynnidae. The most widespread of the
hammer orchids, the King-In-His-Carriage (<i>D. glyptodon</i>), grows
in sandy heath and is pollinated by the wasp <i>Zapilothynnus
trilobatus</i>. The flightless female wasp climbs a sedge blade or
other plant when receptive, and waits for a flying male to whisk her
off. Here she bears a modest resemblance to the warty dark labellum
of the King-In-His-Carriage sitting atop its slender stem. When a
male thynnid wasp attempts to carry off the flower's labellum, the
hinged stem knocks the insect into the column, dusting the wasp or
the stigma with pollinia.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">A BRICK HOUSE— ENGLISH SPARROW & PAPER WASP (1992)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 27" x 23"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnF9cnjcvB7pixq3Q1FnN1kCBAbjJbF36E3A9JbMKSMaCdKH7Xv86oMwKujsGMyccMzkkfgLfhbuAXPiqEOVpUr_a0VgIgO0hpWpzcskJenPLX6qmIXRz2BUafn96izf9bkGPVeEUeicgF/s1600/05-brickhouse.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577133504120731234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnF9cnjcvB7pixq3Q1FnN1kCBAbjJbF36E3A9JbMKSMaCdKH7Xv86oMwKujsGMyccMzkkfgLfhbuAXPiqEOVpUr_a0VgIgO0hpWpzcskJenPLX6qmIXRz2BUafn96izf9bkGPVeEUeicgF/s400/05-brickhouse.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 352px;" /></a></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US">Commensalism
is a type of ecological relationship that lies between parasitism and
symbiosis, that benefits one organism but has little effect on the
other. A well-known example is the relationship between remoras of
the family Echeneidae and the sharks and other large marine predators that
they adhere to. The remoras feed on scraps left over from the shark
and receive protection from it too. The effect of the
relationship on the shark seems to be small, although, as in most
commensal relationships, subtle effects probably do occur. There are
many kinds of bacteria that form commensal relationships with
Humans—also many that are symbiotic and parasitic. A number of
animals are well known Human commensals, too. Among these is the House
Sparrow (<i>Passer domesticus</i>), an originally Eurasian bird that
has followed our species in its expansion across the globe. Although
it occurs today nearly everywhere that Humans do, it is rare to see a
House Sparrow far from Human habitation. It was introduced to North
America just over 100 years ago. The most famous importation of House
Sparrows was by Eugene Schiffelin, who attempted to introduce every
bird mentioned in Shakespeare's works into Central Park. Most of
these introductions failed, but within a century, House Sparrows
spread throughout the Western Hemisphere, radiating into numerous
niches, the big, dark sparrows of the Pacific Northwest contrasting
with their brightly hued eastern kin and their small, sandy-colored
brethren of the desert Southwest. In this painting the nesting
microhabitat of a decorative brick is shared with a common paper wasp
of the genus <i>Polistes</i>.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">PHORESY—NEOTROPICAL
PSEUDOSCORPIONS & HARLEQUIN BEETLE (2014)<br /><i>acrylic
on panel 14” x 9”</i></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZpWeqbPFnQQRqe0glcZiy3bPDWLEuIXQDWzM-iV_2XGy9fhyphenhyphenya8ro-ASeDuYqSpWDs19pp7PJGgtgK5J2OxNHenznv1CwY37R-BXf9zcMHEdPEbEWSvAWQaI4I8LyqU2-Ujww_ZPTHY5/s1600/cpbvk-phoresy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ZpWeqbPFnQQRqe0glcZiy3bPDWLEuIXQDWzM-iV_2XGy9fhyphenhyphenya8ro-ASeDuYqSpWDs19pp7PJGgtgK5J2OxNHenznv1CwY37R-BXf9zcMHEdPEbEWSvAWQaI4I8LyqU2-Ujww_ZPTHY5/s1600/cpbvk-phoresy.jpg" width="248" /></a></i></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US"><i><br /></i><span style="font-style: normal;">One
of the main characteristics of nearly all animals is their ability to
move from one place to another. This seems obvious, but it's an
important and valuable skill that is much more restricted in other
kingdoms. Leaving the home turf benefits an organism by sidestepping
competition with relatives, and life has evolved countless
interesting ways of dispersing itself. Pseudoscorpions are tiny arachnids, a
few millimeters long, that can be found in just about any habitat,
nearly anywhere on Earth, although because of their size, most people
have never noticed one. Dispersing very far is difficult for such
minute creatures. Many small insects can fly. Some spiders, mites and
caterpillars disperse by “ballooning,” floating on the breeze
from a long strand of silk. Many pseudoscorpions and other small
invertebrates disperse by phoresy, or commensally hitchhiking on a
larger animal. The pseud</span><span style="font-style: normal;">oscorpion
</span></span><i>Cordylochernes
scorpioides </i><span style="font-style: normal;">is </span>habitually
carried to better habitat on the back of a Harlequin Beetle
(<i>Acrocinus longimanis</i>). Both animals are distributed widely
through Tropical America. Like most other long-horned beetles, the
larval Harlequin Beetle is a wood borer. After metamorphosis, the
adult beetle emerges to the mossy surface of the dead old tree in
which it spent its youth. This is the habitat of <i>C.
scorpioides</i>, which preys on small
arthropods. Upon sensing a Harlequin Beetle, a<i> </i><span style="font-style: normal;">pseudoscorpion
will approach it and pinch its abdomen, causing the beetle to lift
its wings and allow the smaller animal to climb underneath them. A
male </span><i>C. scorpioides </i>will defend his patch of beetle
back against other male pseudoscorpions, and mate with females there.
A large, newly-dead tree is the preferred place for Harlequin Beetles
to mate and lay eggs and for <i>C. scorpioides </i><span style="font-style: normal;">to
live, so the ride/rider relationship is an apt match. The
pseudoscorpion species <i>Parachelifer lativittatus</i> also
regularly rides on Harlequin Beetles, further up, on the sides of the
thorax. Beneath the phoretic relationship depicted, a Margay
(<i>Leopardus wiedii</i>) crosses the forest floor. </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">PASSENGERS
OF FORTUNE--CARMINE BEE-EATERS (2005)<br /><i>acrylic
on illustration board 40” x 15” </i></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRwvRuiozOWtethm3GBGASgQTXGmArSyR8XCwJK0QwFwHcQw59eDmmLgshcKM3Sot_WqSE9ZFXY9V1yTVz5xiRrgQsKdLK76HSJI679LZSiZyUnAKh6f-7DshO733DJ70DMzKnAH6y7ip/s1600/0cpbvk-passengers.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRwvRuiozOWtethm3GBGASgQTXGmArSyR8XCwJK0QwFwHcQw59eDmmLgshcKM3Sot_WqSE9ZFXY9V1yTVz5xiRrgQsKdLK76HSJI679LZSiZyUnAKh6f-7DshO733DJ70DMzKnAH6y7ip/s1600/0cpbvk-passengers.JPG" width="117" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">Commensal
feeding is related to parasitism, but its effects on the host are
benign. It's also related to phoresy,
but instead of a means of dispersal, the hitchhiker is exploiting a
good feeding platform, like the
remora on the shark. On land, the riders are usually birds
hawking insects disturbed by a large mammal. The striking Northern
Carmine Bee-eater (<i>Merops nubicus</i>) of the African Sahel feeds
in the typical manner of bee-eaters: searching out flying bees and
wasps from a perch, winging out to capture them
in midair, then returning to the perch to dispatch and eat them. This
species, though, has added a couple of other methods to its feeding
repertoire, including diving for small fish like a tern, and riding
upon the backs of large mammals and even birds like the Ostrich
(<i>Struthio camelus</i>), and flycatching after flying insects like
the Desert Locust (<i>Schistocerca gregaria</i>) that emerge from the
grasses as the ride passes through. The lines between symbiosis,
commensalism and parasitism are blurry, and there is often overlap
between them. Commensal feeders like these bee-eaters are also apt to
remove the occasional parasite, like the <span lang="en-US">louse
fly of the family Hippoboscidae</span> that can
be seen scuttling through the ostrich's feathers. These riders are
true parasites, specializing in sucking the blood of their host.
Many hippoboscid fly species feed only upon a single species of bird
or mammal.</span></span></span></span></div>
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</span>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">CONVOY
THROUGH THE CANOPY—deBRAZZA'S MONKEYS (2000)<br /><i>acrylic
triptych on illustration board 30” x 20”, 30”, 20” </i></span></span></span></span>
</div>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9S55P3l15J-rQ05I0u8Ga7dyP23yQkaLn4fa5D5zrusd-oXqYLZ2UFy0_nPZTbeD6nAtMPRfhSdWlz4iWEyCvm_fRqlZK35RGq0GRCZrMjrfHanaQJOH8zOCkH0HPUPuny1gVQXc6t5x/s1600/cpbvk-convoythrough-lr.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9S55P3l15J-rQ05I0u8Ga7dyP23yQkaLn4fa5D5zrusd-oXqYLZ2UFy0_nPZTbeD6nAtMPRfhSdWlz4iWEyCvm_fRqlZK35RGq0GRCZrMjrfHanaQJOH8zOCkH0HPUPuny1gVQXc6t5x/s1600/cpbvk-convoythrough-lr.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US"><i><br /></i>This painting depicts a relationship that's related to the
commensal feeding of the remora and shark and the bee-eater and
Ostrich, but is more symbiotic, that is, both parties experience a
benefit from their relationship, transitory though it may be. One of
the many African monkey species known as “guenons,” de Brazza's
Monkey (<i>Cercopithecus neglectus</i>) inhabits various types of
forest, usually near rivers, from southeastern Cameroon through the
southern Central African Republic and throughout most of the former
Zaire. Here we see a troop moving along a massive fig tree,
accompanied by Long-tailed Hornbills (<i>Tockus albocristatus</i>)
and Oil Palm Squirrels (<i>Protoxerus stangeri</i>). Both of these
species habitually travel with monkeys, eating insects that are
disturbed by their movement, such as the giant cicada (Cicadidae) in
the right panel. The sharp-eyed hornbills return the favor by making
a loud racket if they spot a Crowned Eagle, warning the primates of
the presence of an important predator. I've taken some artistic
liberties in this piece by depicting such a large group of monkeys so
close to a small settlement of Humans, the most important monkey
predator of all in Central Africa. Incidental animals in this piece
include a Crested Chameleon (<i>Chameleo cristatus</i>), Bush Viper
(<i>Atheris hispidus</i>), Black Kite (<i>Milvus migrans</i>), Great
Blue Touracos (<i>Corythaeola cristata</i>), Gray Parrots (<i>Psittacus
erithacus</i>), Palm Swift (<i>Cypsiurus parvus</i>), Red-rumped
Tinker Bird (<i>Pogoniulus chrysoconus</i>), Snowy-crowned Robin-chat
(<i>Cossypha niveicapilla</i>), Chestnut Wattle-eyes (<i>Platysteira
castanea</i>) and Village Weaver (<i>Ploceus cucullatus</i>).</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">BLACK
AND WHITE AND RED ALL OVER—SPOTTED HYENAS AND PLAINS ZEBRA
(1999)<br /><i>acrylic
on illustration board 20” x 17”</i></span></span></span></span>
</div>
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXonlCOYcTNPKBiu9QJIb_Gv08K5LyA971smdVLNdDLlqBnXoxtVDgh_eUaGC_DMv_3GolquurmMe7fyHHrPzwbUkZvj41fTUK0pBs_3K5isniAIymqY4QvSRfhrYeu2-HtBKd5WggzKb/s1600/cpbvk-blackandwhite-lr.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXonlCOYcTNPKBiu9QJIb_Gv08K5LyA971smdVLNdDLlqBnXoxtVDgh_eUaGC_DMv_3GolquurmMe7fyHHrPzwbUkZvj41fTUK0pBs_3K5isniAIymqY4QvSRfhrYeu2-HtBKd5WggzKb/s1600/cpbvk-blackandwhite-lr.JPG" width="268" /></a></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US"><i><br /></i>Although
they resemble dogs, the four species of hyena are most closely
related to the mongoose family. By far the largest and most powerful
member of the group, the Spotted Hyena (<i>Crocuta crocuta</i>)
ranged over most of the Old World during the Pleistocene, but today
is restricted to sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this, it is still a
highly successful species, outnumbering other large African predators
and able to function as a scavenger, pirate, solitary hunter or pack
hunter. Its incredibly powerful jaws enable it to crack large bones
and exploit the marrow within, a food source inaccessible to other
animals. Fetal female hyenas develop with high levels of androgens in
their blood, a quirk resulting in their well-known mock male
genitalia. Here a pair of hyenas pause over their meal, a Plains
Zebra (<i>Equus burchelli</i>). Interestingly enough, it seems that
the three animals we call zebras do not really constitute a discrete
group, but that all modern equids evolved from a striped ancestor.
Some modern forms lost their stripes, while members of two distinct
lines retained theirs. This pattern probably does not aid camouflage,
but rather works as a social signal to other zebras. And as for the
age-old question...I say definitely white with black stripes. In the
background is a small group of Bronze Mannikins (<i>Lonchura
cucullata</i>). </span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span lang="en-US"><span face=""ms reference sans" serif , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">CRASH-BARRIER
WALTZER—BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE <span style="font-style: normal;">(2005)</span><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span><i>acrylic
on illustration board 30” x 20” </i></span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoh6W5kOyyo7ShGTAJsRvDV1QnyoP6FPIPVB4xIS1qu2WpVI69cYSfvOb7A0RzzX-pQI7NSBRgOzEDMnripolWKEOF9v2pgnXKyrXGrXGNwephpYKjD5VVVskX6rvSfE7lpdrF6R0ovryl/s1600/cpbvk-crash-b-w-lores.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoh6W5kOyyo7ShGTAJsRvDV1QnyoP6FPIPVB4xIS1qu2WpVI69cYSfvOb7A0RzzX-pQI7NSBRgOzEDMnripolWKEOF9v2pgnXKyrXGrXGNwephpYKjD5VVVskX6rvSfE7lpdrF6R0ovryl/s1600/cpbvk-crash-b-w-lores.JPG" width="230" /></a></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span lang="en-US"><span face=""ms reference sans" serif , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">If
nature is anything, it is energy-efficient, and in any ecosystem
there is a place for scavengers. In unusual situations, like the
Pleistocene plains of North America and some contemporary African
savannas, there are enough large animals to sustain full-time
warm-blooded carrion eaters, but the majority of larger
scavenging animals are generalists, feeding on a wide assortment of
foods, and in that respect, western North America's Black-billed
Magpie (<i>Pica hudsonia</i>) is typical. Long considered a race of
the Old World Magpie (<i>P. pica</i>), the American bird is now
considered a distinct species, based on DNA evidence. Thriving in a
variety of situations, these handsome corvids are common through most
of their range. Despite their routine habit of feeding on road-killed
animals, it is surprisingly rare to find one of these intelligent
birds joining those ranks. Incidental subjects in this painting
include Big Sagebrush (<i>Artemesia tridentata</i>), Mules Ears
(<i>Wyethia amplexicaulis</i>), a garden spider (<i>Argiope</i> sp.),
Differential Grasshopper (<i>Melanoplus differentialis</i>), Green
Stink Bug (<i>Acrosternum hilare</i>), Blue Mud Dauber Wasp
(<i>Chalybion californicum</i>), Convergent Ladybird larva
(<i>Hippodamia convergens</i>), looper larva (<i>Autographa</i> sp.),
Bushtits (<i>Psaltriparius minimus</i>) Green-tailed Towhee (<i>Pipilo
chlorurus</i>), and Least Chipmunk (<i>Tamias minimus</i>).</span> </span></span></span></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">SPOTTED EAGLE OWL (1998)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic on illustration board 30” x 20”</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIlspFqx8lzvRAuO1YKKloUYFFeh3xpTZy4IRoQYzPyLsHA9j2tFsA0JXfX8MOQ9dhCrVXAyPBKhAn-YhR_AbAfwcXDUVJwQ7X7MtnWrB-7o0gDEjOsMocQV5MsE30ghXJhyDwlLb55fS/s1600/cpbvk-spottedowl.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680573539667743538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIlspFqx8lzvRAuO1YKKloUYFFeh3xpTZy4IRoQYzPyLsHA9j2tFsA0JXfX8MOQ9dhCrVXAyPBKhAn-YhR_AbAfwcXDUVJwQ7X7MtnWrB-7o0gDEjOsMocQV5MsE30ghXJhyDwlLb55fS/s400/cpbvk-spottedowl.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 260px;" /></a></span><span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">The
eagle owls of the genus <i>Bubo</i> comprise a highly successful
group of large predatory birds, with representatives nearly
everywhere except Antarctica and the Australasian region. The group
includes the arctic Snowy Owl (<i>B. scandiacus</i>), the huge
Eurasian Eagle Owl (<i>B. bubo</i>) and the widespread and well-known
American Great Horned Owl (<i>B. virginianus</i>). Through most of
sub-Saharan Africa the Spotted Eagle Owl (<i>Bubo africanus</i>)
thrives in most habitats except extreme desert and thick tropical
rainforest. It is slightly smaller than its American cousin, and less
likely to take large prey, usually preferring a diet of rodents,
lizards and large insects. In the background a small party of Spotted
Hyenas (<i>Crocuta crocuta</i>) scouts the savanna.</span></span></span></span></div>
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</span>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: white;">
</span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br />THREE MORE WORLDS— RAINBOW TROUT & OSPREY (1998)<br />acrylic on illustration board 30" x 20"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYEsGtK-Hi_Jh3peIehe5mpI9o2ToL12GAtNaS_4YziEpxXyMHmrvSrZDqIEYhvJoAA2KMvB9r9re6wrdi3-YUMhRelYM8rl_EUrXoEjyGfhUNURFLiversK9ZJ6o_s0HhOCq-uSA2XPm/s1600/15-threemore.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577141375972414114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYEsGtK-Hi_Jh3peIehe5mpI9o2ToL12GAtNaS_4YziEpxXyMHmrvSrZDqIEYhvJoAA2KMvB9r9re6wrdi3-YUMhRelYM8rl_EUrXoEjyGfhUNURFLiversK9ZJ6o_s0HhOCq-uSA2XPm/s400/15-threemore.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 280px;" /></a></span></span>
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<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The
Osprey <i>Pandion
haliaetus</i>) is
an unusual bird with no close relatives. It shares common ancestry
with the hawks, eagles, kites and falcons, but so far it's been
difficult to trace its lineage any more specifically than that.
Fossils ascribed to the osprey genus go back at least 15 million
years, and 30 million year-old osprey-like fossils have been found in
Germany and Egypt. Its singularity has earned it its own family,
Pandionidae, with but a single species (though some experts consider
the Australian ospreys different enough to warrant species status).
Few birds have a wider global distribution; ospreys range across
every continent but Antarctica. The fact that these birds vary so
little across the globe points to their wandering nature. Only a
handful of animal species fit this evolutionary pattern; <i>Homo
sapiens</i> is another one. It is extremely rare for an Osprey to eat
anything that is not a fish, and this behavior has been important in
its evolution. Its large, rugose feet with opposable outer toes are
unique within its order, as are its nostril valves and its wings,
which are structured very like those of other dive-fishing birds like
pelicans and gannets: a case of convergent evolution. The
Rainbow Trout (<i>Oncorhynchus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span><i>mykiss</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) is another
creature with an expansive range, but its story is quite different.
Originally native only to western North America in waters draining
into the Pacific, it has proved to be an ideal species for captive
propagation and transplantation as a game fish, and has been
introduced throughout the continent and into waters as far away as
New Zealand. This painting is in large part an overt theft of
Escher's lithograph “Three Worlds,” in which the viewer gazes
through leaves floating upon the water’s surface upon a koi beneath
and reflections of trees above. I injected an aspect of impending
doom by introducing the Osprey's reflection.</span></span></span></span>
<br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON (2004)<br />acrylic on illustration board 24" x 18"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTelmlNcNxqg4RCRW4Wvu5iSckjWF38GGuVoDRuoda11BTi2YFxTOtM4G4pJqo6o110cj_U7V7ImzPz9nw6FrLZih4C4iiHcSdy6WjCENDM-3EOVdNndoYD79p5El0DLG3sjWZqSj63Uk/s1600/cpbvk-yellowcrowned.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577143180503942482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTelmlNcNxqg4RCRW4Wvu5iSckjWF38GGuVoDRuoda11BTi2YFxTOtM4G4pJqo6o110cj_U7V7ImzPz9nw6FrLZih4C4iiHcSdy6WjCENDM-3EOVdNndoYD79p5El0DLG3sjWZqSj63Uk/s400/cpbvk-yellowcrowned.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 301px;" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The Yellow-crowned Night Heron (<i>Nyctanassa violacea</i>) haunts coastal marshes from Massachusetts to Brazil, and Panamá to Perú on the Pacific side. It also occurs on the Galápagos and throughout the West Indies. Unlike its nearly cosmopolitan cousin the Black-crowned Night Heron (<i>Nycticorax nycticorax</i>), which hunts fish from dawn to dusk, the Yellow-crowned often stalks the crustaceans that make up the bulk of its diet at midday. In recent years this species has increased its range in the United States as far west as Illinois. Yellow-crowned Night herons also breed on Baja California as well as the eastern shore of the Sea of Cortés. The butterfly on the bank belongs to the genus <i>Eunica</i>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">CRASH-BARRIER WALTZER—BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE (2005)</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic on illustration board 30” x 20” </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG69SSFle13Qodh64fdYbNm7h1kyKQWIi4y5ug9uOFkMTgwhnaV6D1EMcDoi2hDWqARByYp2Pp1R3RurodQ2GqKAFglyEaLiCfAAWDSf-v2cePst0wrqAc-jYPJCpd10eDKL-Cz9Q4X9g/s1600/cpbvk-crash.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567111690516718306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG69SSFle13Qodh64fdYbNm7h1kyKQWIi4y5ug9uOFkMTgwhnaV6D1EMcDoi2hDWqARByYp2Pp1R3RurodQ2GqKAFglyEaLiCfAAWDSf-v2cePst0wrqAc-jYPJCpd10eDKL-Cz9Q4X9g/s400/cpbvk-crash.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 293px;" /></a></span></span></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span></span></span><br />
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span lang="en-US">If
nature is anything, it is energy-efficient, and in any ecosystem
there is a place for scavengers. In unusual situations, like the
Pleistocene plains of North America and some contemporary African savannas,
there are enough large animals to sustain full-time warm-blooded
carrion eaters, but the vast majority of larger scavenging animals are
generalists, feeding on a wide assortment of foods, and in that
respect, western North America's Black-billed Magpie (<i>Pica
hudsonia</i>) is typical. Long considered a race of the Old World
Magpie (<i>P. pica</i>), the American bird is now considered a
distinct species, based on DNA evidence. Thriving in a variety of
situations, these handsome corvids are common through most of their
range. Despite their routine habit of feeding on road-killed animals,
it is surprisingly rare to find one of these intelligent birds
joining those ranks. Incidental subjects in this painting include Big
Sagebrush (<i>Artemesia tridentata</i>), Mules Ears (<i>Wyethia
amplexicaulis</i>), a garden spider (<i>Argiope</i> sp.),
Differential Grasshopper (<i>Melanoplus differentialis</i>), Green
Stink Bug (<i>Acrosternum hilare</i>), Blue Mud Dauber Wasp
(<i>Chalybion californicum</i>), Convergent Ladybird larva
(<i>Hippodamia convergens</i>), looper larva (<i>Autographa</i> sp.),
Bushtits (<i>Psaltriparius minimus</i>) Green-tailed Towhee (<i>Pipilo
chlorurus</i>), and Least Chipmunk (<i>Tamias minimus</i>). </span></span></span></span>
</div>
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</span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br />
PRAIRIE SENTINEL--PRAIRIE RATTLESNAKE & AMERICAN BISON (2002)<br />acrylic 15” x 40” </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewVe-8LJET1NrbF3H95Igk2FcxOBy8796iyMFOqGIBcTTgvgYwQkrg49QtAhnm7TIQ9hurKgObKdQNXo8cqSMRuTjSG4M73Wi1Az5lYeyU1vgv0WyYBcZFTs7jHvXwVsTvLYGSlOgp-0/s1600/cpbvk-prairiesentinel.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567034835522169266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewVe-8LJET1NrbF3H95Igk2FcxOBy8796iyMFOqGIBcTTgvgYwQkrg49QtAhnm7TIQ9hurKgObKdQNXo8cqSMRuTjSG4M73Wi1Az5lYeyU1vgv0WyYBcZFTs7jHvXwVsTvLYGSlOgp-0/s400/cpbvk-prairiesentinel.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 146px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>
</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-weight: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span lang="en-US">Rattlesnakes</span></span></span>
comprise about 50 species in two unique American pitviper genera, all
with tails that are tipped with a series of complex, interlocking,
cornified scales, completely unlike anything else known to have been
evolved by snakes—until very recently, anyway. These reptiles are
not only specialized at their very tips; the musculature of the tail
itself is dominated by three pairs of “shaker” muscles, two of
which produce lateral, back-and-forth movements, while the third pair
applies torsion, drawing the ventral edge of the rattle outward to
either side. The fibers of these muscles are rich in mitochondria,
sarcoplasmic reticula, capillaries and glycogen, and capable of
sustaining the high respiratory levels necessary to vibrate the tail
as rapidly as 100 Hz. for as long as an hour at a time. These speeds
are comparable to the oscillations of sphingid moth wings. Among
vertebrates, only hummingbirds can vie with the rattlesnakes in this
respect. The rattling system's main function is to warn away
dangerous animals like predators and large grazing animals, although
in some of the small <i>Sistrurus</i> species, it is only audible at
close range, and appears to be of little use in this area. Whatever
the first proto-rattlers used their tails for, they probably enhanced
an already existent behavior. Young rattlesnakes and even adult
<span style="font-weight: medium;"><i>Sistrurus</i></span> rattlers
often engage in caudal luring, wriggling the tail to entice lizards
and other potential prey to come in close. It is possible that early
rattles enhanced this behavior. The tail of the recently discovered
Iranian viper <i>Pseudocerastes urarachnoides</i> has an ornate tail
lure that could be similar to the tails of early rattlesnakes. Then
again, the first rattles may have been defensive. Many snakes,
including some vipers, vibrate the tail defensively. When doing so
against dry vegetation, the resulting sound is not unlike a
rattler's. Defensive tail-shaking colubrids, like the Common Racer
(<i>Coluber constrictor</i>), lack the specialized tail musculature,
and cannot sustain the motion more than a few seconds, but the tail
muscles of the Copperhead (<i>Agkistrodon contortrix</i>), a close
cousin of the rattlesnake, have a significantly elevated respiratory
capacity. The traditional view of rattler evolution posits that
rattles evolved to enhance defensive tail-shaking, and since the
earliest-known rattlesnake fossils were found in the American Great
Plains, it's tempting to visualize the first rattler warding off vast
herds of American Bison (<i>Bison bison</i>). Genetic mapping,
though, strongly suggests that rattlesnakes first evolved in
America's southeast, severely shaking this attractive theory. Today,
the rattlesnakes are represented in the American Midwest by the
Prairie Rattlesnake (<i>Crotalus viridis</i><span style="font-style: normal;">).
Incidental creatures in the painting include horseflies (</span><i>Tabanus
</i><span style="font-style: normal;">sp.) a metallic bee (</span><i>Augochlora</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
sp.), banded grasshopper (</span><i>Trimerotropis</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
sp.), skipper (</span><i>Epargyreus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
sp.), Common Nighthawk (</span><i>Chordeiles minor</i><span style="font-style: normal;">),
Horned Larks (</span><i>Eremophila alpestris</i><span style="font-style: normal;">),
and a groundsquirrel (</span><i>Spermophilus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
sp.).</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span>
</span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">STRANGE FRUIT--IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER (2002)<br />acrylic 30" x 20" </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisfrGYVqAycreHcgQpUzJsdsTwtgyVOMd_8Q-8GLvyb_Sn8cIeCAj_UwAHHDo2CTTgr9XmlcuMdTT5bYeegg9By_V2qVtZIYaNAonVpcn4GIuu7Ry7dZGHByeiMJ062vlxCTFkxp8mBVg/s1600/cpbvk-strangefruit-lr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567027272776577442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisfrGYVqAycreHcgQpUzJsdsTwtgyVOMd_8Q-8GLvyb_Sn8cIeCAj_UwAHHDo2CTTgr9XmlcuMdTT5bYeegg9By_V2qVtZIYaNAonVpcn4GIuu7Ry7dZGHByeiMJ062vlxCTFkxp8mBVg/s400/cpbvk-strangefruit-lr.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 262px;" /></a></span></span></span><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span lang="en-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""ms reference sans" serif , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;">At
around twenty inches in length, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
(</span><i>Campephilus principalis</i><span style="font-style: normal;">)
was North America's largest woodpecker. Never a common bird, it once
haunted virgin cypress swamps and bottomland forests throughout the
southeastern U.S. By the end of the nineteenth century its imminent
extinction was feared, and the last confirmed sighting was in the
late 1950's. Sporadic events since that time point to the possibility
that some of these birds may still endure: a handful of questionable
photographs, numerous unconfirmed sightings, and a 2002 recording
originally identified as a drumming male, but later shown to be a
distant shotgun. In the spring of 2004, a brief video taken in
Arkansas's White River Refuge was widely accepted at first as an
Ivorybill, but later dismissed by most authorities as a Pileated
Woodpecker (</span><i>Dryocopus pileatus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">).
Incidental creatures in the painting include a Zebra Butterfly
(</span><i>Heliconius charitonius</i><span style="font-style: normal;">),
a Green Anole (</span><i>Anolis carolinensis</i><span style="font-style: normal;">)
and Palm Warblers (</span><i>Dendroica palmarum</i><span style="font-style: normal;">).</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">SPRAWL--OUSTALET'S CHAMELEON (2007)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 18' x 24"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjHaZTA5Xbz_EMUrxej3VyM96Xp6IbEAmuGbwtumxcFPuo5agGRhvgXCD2NxFFlp1n79Dh3YkNn9x6mwrN-tVHnKWtZ7O-9v-_Md1MivI2Ez_1ZdxloYV3bpVt3KICB9_uJPCE5e9MqTi/s1600/cpbvk-sprawl3.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619304845145072418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjHaZTA5Xbz_EMUrxej3VyM96Xp6IbEAmuGbwtumxcFPuo5agGRhvgXCD2NxFFlp1n79Dh3YkNn9x6mwrN-tVHnKWtZ7O-9v-_Md1MivI2Ez_1ZdxloYV3bpVt3KICB9_uJPCE5e9MqTi/s400/cpbvk-sprawl3.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 299px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Ecological change is one of the drivers
of evolution. Random change is detrimental to most organisms in a
functioning ecosystem, but there is frequently a small minority that
finds benefit in that change. The island of Madagascar, isolated
since the Cretaceous, is famous for its unique flora and fauna, much
of which has diminished or been extirpated as humans altered the
landscape. Rampant deforestation has been devastating for most of the
island's wildlife, including most of its 70+ chameleon species. Two
notable chameleon species though, seem to have benefited from
deforestation: the Panther Chameleon (<i>Furcifer pardalis</i>) and
in particular, the two-foot-long Oustalet's Chameleon (<i>F.
oustaleti</i>), a species that thrives in deforested zones and has
expanded its range greatly in recent years. Lean and limber, it's an
active species whose tongue can snatch small reptiles and even birds
along with the large insects that make up most of its diet. In the
trees it moves in typical chameleon fashion, but on the ground it can
run quite quickly for a chameleon. Incidental species include Humans
(<i>Homo sapiens</i>), Madagascan Brown Bat (<i>Neoromicia matroka</i>),
Black Kite (<i>Milvus migrans</i>), Chicken (<i>Gallus gallus</i>),
Red Fody (<i>Foudia madagascariensis</i>) and Lined Day Gecko
(<i>Phelsuma lineatus</i>).
</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span>
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<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /><br />______________________________________</span></span><br /><br />
These last six paintings are reconstructions of exinct fauna of western North America.</span></span></span><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">FAUNA OF THE BURGESS SHALE (1988-2011)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">acrylic on illustration board 15" x 20"</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrUqZgRAVyYRJox2Y0dsX3hhkVYQamP6jw3VN_dcNpbBWWGv7kFIqe7HWxYJ5i0tdqiehV4AJ6sWmX9Oo9O28H-tfQ8B83SEhBlXty0lkhpjFbpN5SD-KUVQfIWhAsxQvbwRmQ4T-xEb4d/s1600/cpbvk-burgessshalelr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694961209618656210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrUqZgRAVyYRJox2Y0dsX3hhkVYQamP6jw3VN_dcNpbBWWGv7kFIqe7HWxYJ5i0tdqiehV4AJ6sWmX9Oo9O28H-tfQ8B83SEhBlXty0lkhpjFbpN5SD-KUVQfIWhAsxQvbwRmQ4T-xEb4d/s400/cpbvk-burgessshalelr.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MMJD9BTS4M4aEMMYaWh5EP1C5pjpyWhPSzN7VWEeL6S5dpz1wHS9RSQaoII18wQp_JnMsLADjQbLwctW6b8hR36NWQA-W2b1CLSHcqp4y42VgjvFVWSbxP_sKRDm2C-eEmn4GaXdrvYy/s1600/burgesslegend2.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694959873403852514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MMJD9BTS4M4aEMMYaWh5EP1C5pjpyWhPSzN7VWEeL6S5dpz1wHS9RSQaoII18wQp_JnMsLADjQbLwctW6b8hR36NWQA-W2b1CLSHcqp4y42VgjvFVWSbxP_sKRDm2C-eEmn4GaXdrvYy/s200/burgesslegend2.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 149px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">British Columbia's Burgess Shale is one
of the best-known and most important fossil beds. This
half-billion-year-old formation has yielded an embarrassment of
excellent fossils of soft-bodied creatures from what is frequently
called the “Cambrian Explosion,” when suddenly—well, relatively
suddenly—over the course of about 8 million years, the recently
evolved multicellular, or metazoan organisms radiated into a
multitude of different body plans, with representatives of most of
the phyla that have ever turned up on the planet. For most of the
preceding 3 ½ billion years, life on Earth had been
unicellular. The cause of this explosion is poorly understood. Is it
an illusion suggested by gaps in our knowledge of the fossil record?
Was it caused by climatic or geological changes, or the evolution of
Hox genes, sexual reproduction, predation or eyesight? Or was it
simply a response to opportunities that could only be exploited by
multicellular life? How about a combination of factors, or something
else? By the beginning of the Cambrian period, 540 mya, stromatolites
(1), formations of sediment trapped within layers of cyanobacteria
and other microorganisms, had been common features of shallow seas
for over two billion years. The appearance of grazing metazoans like
trilobites and earlier creatures is thought to have been responsible
for a major reduction of these structures during the Cambrian and
Ordovician. True sponges (Phylum Porifera) appeared before the
beginning of the Cambrian, and are represented here by <i>Leptomitus</i>
(2) and <i>Vauxia</i> (3). Brachiopods (phylum Brachiopoda), which
would reach an impressive peak of importance and diversity during the
Ordovician, made their appearance with the Cambrian, during which they probably remained
fairly uncommon. Pictured is the articulate brachiopod <i>Billingsella</i>
(4). One of the groups that may have given rise to the arthropods is
the phylum Lobopoda, in which many experts include the bizarre
<i>Hallucigenia</i> (5), which, until recently, was normally
reconstructed walking upon its spines, with a single row of tentacles
running down its back. A common Cambrian lobopod was <i>Aysheaia</i>
(6), which is thought to have fed on sponges, with which its
fossilized remains are frequently associated. Also related to the
arthropods was the extinct phylum Radiodonta, which included
<i>Anomalocaris</i> (7), a huge swimming predator that reached a yard
in length, as well as the five-eyed, nozzle-nosed <i>Opabinia</i>
(8). The best known arthropods of the Cambrian were the trilobites,
which appeared early on in the period, and enjoyed great success well
into the Devonian. Small, primitive agnostid trilobites like <i>Lejopyge</i>
(9) proliferated during the middle Cambrian. Though shaped like
bottom-dwelling (benthic) animals, their wide oceanic distribution is
suggestive of a free-swimming (pelagic) lifestyle. Perhaps they lived
on the water's surface, floating on little air bubbles and
filter-feeding on microorganisms. The corynexochid trilobites
comprised a diverse and successful order, one of the best known of
which was <i>Olenoides</i> (10). Another large trilobite order was
the Ptychopariida, which included <i>Asaphiscus</i> (11), the very
common <i>Elrathia</i> (12) and <i>Modocia</i> (13). <i>Naraoia</i>
(14) was an unusual trilobite, if indeed it even belongs in that
taxon. Among the arthropods whose taxonomic affinities are unclear
are the benthic <i>Habelia</i> (15) and <i>Burgessia</i> (16) and the
backswimming <i>Sarotrocercus</i> (19). The crustaceans also appeared
during the Cambrian. Included in this group are the backswimming
<i>Odaraia</i> (18), the enigmatic phyllocarid <i>Pseudoarctolepis</i>
(20), and the crayfish-like <i>Canadaspis</i> (21). One of the most
common arthropods of the Cambrian was the lovely little <i>Marella</i>
(22), which may have been related to <i>Branchiocaris</i> (23).
Members of the phylum Priapulida, very much like the burrow-dwelling
<i>Ottoia</i> (24) still persist today. <i>Ottoia</i> fossils have
been found containing prey like the hyolithid mollusc <i>Hyolithes</i>
(25) (phylum Mollusca). The early segmented worm <i>Canadia</i> (26)
(phylum Annelida) seems quite similar to some modern polychaete
worms. The echinoderms comprise a large and important phylum that
first arose in the early Cambrian. The primitive <i>Gogia</i> (27)
was related to modern sea lilies. Our own phylum Chordata was
represented in the Cambrian by the wormlike <i>Pikaia</i> (28), which
was anatomically similar to modern lancelets. Some of the unusual
Cambrian animals whose affinities are hard to place include the
common armored <i>Wiwaxia</i> (29), the sessile (stationary)
<i>Dinomischus</i> (30) and the pelagic <i>Amiskwia</i> (31).</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: italic;">APATOSAURUS </span>(1997)</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 15” x 10” </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtOL5Mhb_mn22A08xQezGu__MjlwghGKsDCfjh_r5KAVSxYr3uk7m8-xfyYmeApsXM2dt6mg4Csofxd5E9YAJ4b2utY7xJjdeMGmdsXFBa6nScElBJnDGSenJZUaMN1jOX-1-PjUxqX0/s1600/cpbvk-apatosaurus.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568508602911767602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtOL5Mhb_mn22A08xQezGu__MjlwghGKsDCfjh_r5KAVSxYr3uk7m8-xfyYmeApsXM2dt6mg4Csofxd5E9YAJ4b2utY7xJjdeMGmdsXFBa6nScElBJnDGSenJZUaMN1jOX-1-PjUxqX0/s400/cpbvk-apatosaurus.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 305px;" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">It's a shame to lose the best-known of all dinosaur names, but thanks to a century-old mix-up involving two specimens, one with the wrong head, being described as representing different genera, <span style="font-style: italic;">Brontosaurus</span> was recently abandoned in favor of the precedent <span style="font-style: italic;">Apatosaurus</span>. It was once speculated that the long necks of these sauropods allowed them to browse high in the treetops or even to breath while deep underwater, but closer study found that the neck musculature could not elevate the structure vertically. More likely, it merely allowed them to reach a considerable amount of plant food without having to move their massive bodies, as the painting illustrates. Apatosaurus lived about 150 million years ago, during the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian ages of the Jurassic period. Its fossils have been found in sites in Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma and Wyoming. </span></span></span></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span lang="en-US">This
painting was originally done as an illustration for Frank DeCourten's
book, “The Dinosaurs of Utah.”</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: italic;">BRACHIOSAURUS </span>(1997)</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 15” x 10”</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHkIkCFhFhXsQkY36xnbx3kCb29i764a0tA8hbzxcHsFCiu6a4thh2B0RfCQKQaB_pCshJH5IF_JYqEsEOBIk14gqP7yauV8TWZ9tCk5AJODAdaWslLuVkJV3WoZPLICDd3IBLTqFWgwo/s1600/cpbvk-brachiosaurus.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568506794138298514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHkIkCFhFhXsQkY36xnbx3kCb29i764a0tA8hbzxcHsFCiu6a4thh2B0RfCQKQaB_pCshJH5IF_JYqEsEOBIk14gqP7yauV8TWZ9tCk5AJODAdaWslLuVkJV3WoZPLICDd3IBLTqFWgwo/s400/cpbvk-brachiosaurus.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 304px;" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Unlike its contemporary <span style="font-style: italic;">Apatosaurus</span>, the robust <span style="font-style: italic;">Brachiosaurus</span> could hold its head high, and probably specialized in browsing the leaves of tall trees that were unavailable to most other land herbivores—so much so, that it was probably restricted to well-forested areas. Its front legs were much longer than the hind legs, giving it a steeply-sloping, giraffe-like back. With high nostrils and large, blade-like teeth, its head was distinctive. Very few good fossils from this genus have turned up, all of them in western Colorado. <span style="font-style: italic;">Brachiosaurus</span> lived during the Tithonian age of the Jurassic period—about 145 million years ago. </span></span></span></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span lang="en-US">This
painting was originally done as an illustration for Frank DeCourten's
book, “The Dinosaurs of Utah.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span>
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<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: italic;">PARASAUROLOPHUS </span>(1998)</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">acrylic 18” x 15” </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTT9dOv5apzi2WsLoiYn2dixd3yNLiBg2aUfIMgkiGLzMbHYSdZczrRaVZbi8CD6YFMr7pl7Dn0vHA7-xH5WRwYL-NyFjWlzWJKruaTWAkEo3c-omdjUdVdIxZiXV0d6w5T1C4jlXg0Y/s1600/cpbvk-parasaurolophus.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568500565351922722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTT9dOv5apzi2WsLoiYn2dixd3yNLiBg2aUfIMgkiGLzMbHYSdZczrRaVZbi8CD6YFMr7pl7Dn0vHA7-xH5WRwYL-NyFjWlzWJKruaTWAkEo3c-omdjUdVdIxZiXV0d6w5T1C4jlXg0Y/s400/cpbvk-parasaurolophus.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 304px;" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Towards the end of the Cretaceous period, there seems to have been a marked decrease in biodiversity, with a very few groups enjoying great success. Most successful of all of these were the hadrosaurs, or duck-billed dinosaurs. With its gracefully curved crest, <span style="font-style: italic;">Parasaurolophus</span> was apparently very common through much of western North America during the Campanian age of the Cretaceous, from 76 to 73 million years ago. The function of the conspicuous crest has been the subject of much speculation. Probably it served as a social signal and possibly a resonating chamber for vocalizations as well. In the background, a pair of <span style="font-style: italic;">Avisaurus</span> (a primitive bird) roost together. </span></span></span></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span lang="en-US">This
painting was originally done as an illustration for Frank DeCourten's
book, “The Dinosaurs of Utah.”</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: italic;">ALAMOSAURUS</span> (1998)<br />acrylic 10” x 15” </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzwkG1Q53Txnrb4cRENiLommHX5q8Qg2eCckWkFyFl18N2AMPUFoxh-g3XkYOt7_ZeRaUs7I1DH8OLXL8Ws0EkvDoOVHKwZMGTNqX3zYi5CkGpJzvL63LHKSHEFT5WCbyfkdMj4UkBXg/s1600/cpbvk-alamosaurus.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568498324400527474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzwkG1Q53Txnrb4cRENiLommHX5q8Qg2eCckWkFyFl18N2AMPUFoxh-g3XkYOt7_ZeRaUs7I1DH8OLXL8Ws0EkvDoOVHKwZMGTNqX3zYi5CkGpJzvL63LHKSHEFT5WCbyfkdMj4UkBXg/s400/cpbvk-alamosaurus.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 297px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The </span></span></span></span><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span lang="en-US">sauropods
(the well-known group of long-necked, terrestrial dinosaurs)</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"> reached their peak of diversity during the Jurassic Period, but members of the group survived to the very end. One of the very last dinosaurs was <span style="font-style: italic;">Alamosaurus</span>, which roamed what is now the southwestern U.S. during the Maastrichtian age of the Cretaceous period, up to 65 million years ago. Here an Alamosaurus herd moves along the edge of a large late Cretaceous lake. </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span lang="en-US">This
painting was originally done as an illustration for Frank DeCourten's
book, “The Dinosaurs of Utah.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span lang="en-US"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span lang="en-US"><span face=""ms reference sans" serif , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>OSBORNODON</i>
(2006) </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /><i>acrylic
on illustration board 20” x 17”</i></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_baVppkQ6D0k6OydkoLDrndqWMWkQNdoBTSF5p_K8QZq60CoFLdMP4P0jd_71Zy1wCkDUF8gkWZY46Lm5Bt2D1pPnb5wlKLIhbycMnoFEFaqn6CQQwGlCgYfPKMvSOWJCYm2NGKsBvl0G/s1600/CPBvKOsbornodon-hi-res.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_baVppkQ6D0k6OydkoLDrndqWMWkQNdoBTSF5p_K8QZq60CoFLdMP4P0jd_71Zy1wCkDUF8gkWZY46Lm5Bt2D1pPnb5wlKLIhbycMnoFEFaqn6CQQwGlCgYfPKMvSOWJCYm2NGKsBvl0G/s1600/CPBvKOsbornodon-hi-res.JPG" width="254" /></a></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US"><span face=""ms reference sans" serif , sans-serif"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: white;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The first
carnivore-like mammals arose in North America during the last days of
the dinosaurs, and radiated into a number of forms over the next 15
million years. In the early Eocene, around 50 million years ago, the
first members of the modern order Carnivora appeared. Among the first
of these were the early canoids, the ancestors to dogs, bears, and
the weasel, raccoon and seal families. The first true canids appeared
some 10 million years later. These very early dogs belonged to the
now extinct subfamily Hesperocyininae, a group that included the
longest surviving known dog genus, <i>Osbornodon</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
which persisted from early in the Oligocene (about 34 mya) until the
late Miocene (about 14 mya). It died out about 7 million years before
the appearance of the first true dogs of the genus </span><i>Canis</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
Six species of </span><i>Osbornodon</i> <span style="font-style: normal;">have
been identified in various sites across western North America. They
were fairly large animals, around 30 lbs., with short legs, big heads
and long snouts. They probably hunted alone or in pairs. This
painting depicts two </span><i>Osbornodon</i> <span style="font-style: normal;">digging
after prey in the sage-covered Miocene hills of western North
America.</span></span></span> </span></span></span></span>
</div>
Carel Brest van Kempenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02526786631222320968noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864799815471829047.post-1368405207994200542012-07-02T09:35:00.000-07:002017-08-12T13:53:20.828-07:00ADDITIONAL IMAGES NOT IN THE CURRENT EXHIBITIONORANGE-BREASTED FALCON & GRANADA MORPHO
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acrylic on illustration board 24" x 18"
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj45AnoapJSIneVgHwArZRpVyDNuOJjsEZUBhjDG-yUKI_rhHs0-HN0LfmidLRq2sgHfgyasKXBVjbNhmdrupLnPqAm-HMWwMtYjYkeHFd_crgGAnU701s189yzyQ5XpH12bSavvttHsEvV/s1600/orangebreasted5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj45AnoapJSIneVgHwArZRpVyDNuOJjsEZUBhjDG-yUKI_rhHs0-HN0LfmidLRq2sgHfgyasKXBVjbNhmdrupLnPqAm-HMWwMtYjYkeHFd_crgGAnU701s189yzyQ5XpH12bSavvttHsEvV/s320/orangebreasted5.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Roughly the size and build of a Peregrine, the uncommon and poorly-understood Orange-breasted Falcon (<i>Falco deiroleucus</i>) is distributed patchily in Central and South America. Although it's rarely seen far from heavy tropical forest, it feeds mostly on birds that are captured above the canopy. It nests in nooks in cliffs adjacent to forests, and probably sometimes in tree cavities. The heavy feet and beak of this species are relatively bigger than those of any other falcon. The Granada Morpho (<i>Morpho granadensis</i>) is one of aroud 30 members of a butterfly genus well known for the immense and iridescent blue wings of a number of species. Incidental animals in this painting include a Misfit Leaf Frog (<i>Agalychnis saltator</i>) and a young Fraser's Anole (<i>Anolis fraseri</i>).<br />
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PIAPIACS & AFRICAN ELEPHANT<br />
acrylic on illustration board 12" x 24"
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhniYAR2saanUyyTm8dwweSZR05tLOIdCJMP-VHYjYK6Zo2UG8rZXTCEVVzMWeglZk9J-vvO-kP8XjADiFdugP_A_e3Pl1pA-SMXHCZeEZLx4o95Sx-5IEjstS_707jg_WDXrNOGETfkkk1/s1600/cpbvk-piapiacs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhniYAR2saanUyyTm8dwweSZR05tLOIdCJMP-VHYjYK6Zo2UG8rZXTCEVVzMWeglZk9J-vvO-kP8XjADiFdugP_A_e3Pl1pA-SMXHCZeEZLx4o95Sx-5IEjstS_707jg_WDXrNOGETfkkk1/s320/cpbvk-piapiacs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Piapiacs (<i>Ptilostomus afer</i>) are small, crow-like corvids that are found in tropical Africa from southern Senegal east to Ethiopia and western Kenya. They forage for insects in small flocks, often perching on the backs of large mammals to hunt the grasshoppers they disturb. Where Piapiacs occur with elephants, they favor them as perches, and unlike oxpeckers, they are tolerated by the pachyderms.<br />
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A CIRCLE UNBROKEN--SPOTTED TOWHEE
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acrylic on illustration board 30" x 20"
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSWMWL0FzHR7VZy4kCr1KNoGsmrEvWzBG1vh1PqiX9EDQLEgsr84N21cmKkwmu_yQqWgPhgjUeutXfd_Ba3b8wcUfcPj02P2QeO-kI1jyx97qLYXrvIAPCj7EgzL7HNQYfUep3A3PPv_MZ/s1600/circleunbrok-5-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSWMWL0FzHR7VZy4kCr1KNoGsmrEvWzBG1vh1PqiX9EDQLEgsr84N21cmKkwmu_yQqWgPhgjUeutXfd_Ba3b8wcUfcPj02P2QeO-kI1jyx97qLYXrvIAPCj7EgzL7HNQYfUep3A3PPv_MZ/s320/circleunbrok-5-11.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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As winter's harshest cold subsides, the Milbert's Tortoiseshell and other bold hibernating insects rouse while the snows deliquesce into life-giving water, soaking the soil and moving nutrients through it, signaling the torpid roots of Glacier Lilies and Short-styled Bluebuells to force their prepunctual greenery through the snow's dingy last remains, to blossom inappropriately on the still wintry forest floor. A brumal blanket pulled back reveals rabbitbrush seeds and other new foodstuffs for scratching towhees. Each year, April holds the promise of new life. <br />
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TRIAD--TOKAY GECKO
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acrylic on illustration board 20" x 30"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibei05QCKBqfHWfdXLPCXtzX2AeXksvAREODXYft3j5xxQQ4eGjVcdVZV8sjM_Jans-8qHbPg24JWTClBKBcJ-yU-6fp23NpAdZk5ACxlBe5v8sYtbD62jYe3irAjdYt2emH6umkftYcMw/s1600/cpbvk-triad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibei05QCKBqfHWfdXLPCXtzX2AeXksvAREODXYft3j5xxQQ4eGjVcdVZV8sjM_Jans-8qHbPg24JWTClBKBcJ-yU-6fp23NpAdZk5ACxlBe5v8sYtbD62jYe3irAjdYt2emH6umkftYcMw/s320/cpbvk-triad.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Among the largest of all geckos, the Tokay (<i>Gekko gecko</i>) can reach 20 inches in length. It ranges from Nepal through most of Southeast Asia and the Philippines to western New Guinea, and is well known for its loud nocturnal call (from which the word “gecko” is derived) and willingness to live in close proximity to Humans. Like most geckos, its highly-adapted toe pads allow it to climb easily on most vertical surfaces.
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THE PROBLEM OF WILD IDENTITY--RED KANGAROO
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acrylic on illustration board 20" x 30"
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAD69yLmCYmucBwd4WiKQV83TPPqVm9ssXcG3F2ErrcHDEy0uxSfXMgs-9AKHV5fheXRwqNjNp3xiF455zf_EPm90uDCT0gxXix3aqH-cDM1Fg4ZBMwfs2x3cKYF9hWm68nibATrhaf3S/s1600/cpbvk-problem-wild-id.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAD69yLmCYmucBwd4WiKQV83TPPqVm9ssXcG3F2ErrcHDEy0uxSfXMgs-9AKHV5fheXRwqNjNp3xiF455zf_EPm90uDCT0gxXix3aqH-cDM1Fg4ZBMwfs2x3cKYF9hWm68nibATrhaf3S/s320/cpbvk-problem-wild-id.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You can go to Madagascar, Venezuela and Nebraska
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Cross the stark Strait of Makassar, trek from Tunis to Timbuktu
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You'll see tragopans and troupials, chiropterans and marsupials,
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Spend weeks ranking and grouping all variety of snake or shrew
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Over a lifetime's exploration fueled by animal admiration
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And obsessional observation of feathers, fur and a fang or two
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In matters zoological, you can see it's not illogical
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To presume some mythological, like the implausible kangaroo.
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INDIAN NARROW-HEADED SOFTSHELL & PAINTED STORK (2013)<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>acrylic
on illustration board 24” x 18”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjAgADXut3DTMd74El-riSnkCerDbIOL0baRvIGoAFE1sC3vAKPRQN8hLg1ve-GeSf6MEawDDi-wp4LRb7Qde61c0aCUC6BV15P-dV064hG1IbCNxMtLCR5iuJc8jn095mnR1euo0JzUi/s1600/cpbvk-khanda.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjAgADXut3DTMd74El-riSnkCerDbIOL0baRvIGoAFE1sC3vAKPRQN8hLg1ve-GeSf6MEawDDi-wp4LRb7Qde61c0aCUC6BV15P-dV064hG1IbCNxMtLCR5iuJc8jn095mnR1euo0JzUi/s1600/cpbvk-khanda.jpg" width="240" /></a></span><br />
Four
genera of huge, mysterious softshell turtles inhabit the Asian
continent. On the Indian subcontinent, this group is represented by
the endangered Narrow-headed Softshell Turtle (<i>Chitra indica</i>),
which haunts slower waters of the Ganges, Godavari, Mahanadi, Satluj
and Indus drainages. The shells of these highly aquatic turtles can
exceed a meter in length. Their diet consists of fish and aquatic
invertebrates along with some plant matter. The females climb onto
land to lay their egg clutches, which can contain over one hundred
eggs. Although it's poorly known, this turtle is threatened by water
pollution and redistribution, and by extensive hunting for its
cartilaginous rim or 'calipee,' which is considered a delicacy. The
striking Painted Stork (<i>Mycteria leucocephala</i>) enjoys a spotty
range, in wet areas over much of Tropical Asia. It is closely related
to the American Wood Stork (<i>M. americana</i>). This composition is
based on the Khanda, the symbol of Sikhism. Incidental subjects in
the painting include the invasive Water Hyacinth (<i>Eichhornia
crassipes</i>), Tailed Green Jay Swallowtail (<i>Graphium
agammemnon</i>), Twin-banded Loach (<i>Botia rostrata</i>), Zebrafish
(<i>Danio rerio</i>), and Skittering Frog (<i>Euphlyctis
cyanophlyctis</i>).
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SPECTRAL
BAT & SMOOTH-BILLED ANIS (2012)<br />
<i>India
ink wash on paper 20” x 15”</i><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR43pHRDv5hLwAQxWfsWj29hEGUUWMzSl-_QsBWm-dPEquVz43EBcCru_4YbItFQRXR0tFSj4dfkeOj7xrneU5Tcx4rVEONl1KvNJ0NvSVMlGhTN1y31VqIKl2tNzkFccpVqasZgSnx9U8/s1600/spectrallr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR43pHRDv5hLwAQxWfsWj29hEGUUWMzSl-_QsBWm-dPEquVz43EBcCru_4YbItFQRXR0tFSj4dfkeOj7xrneU5Tcx4rVEONl1KvNJ0NvSVMlGhTN1y31VqIKl2tNzkFccpVqasZgSnx9U8/s1600/spectrallr.jpg" width="257" /></a></span><br />
With a wingspan
reaching a yard and a weight approaching half a pound, the Spectral
Bat (<i>Vampyrum spectrum</i>) is the New World's largest bat, as
well as the largest carnivorous bat and the largest member of the
suborder Microchiroptera. It ranges through most of the New World
tropics, but is plentiful nowhere. At dusk the bats leave their tree
cavity roosts to forage for vertebrate prey, which is located by
scent and sound. Among the most common prey items are the three
species of ani (<i>Crotophaga</i> spp.), blackish, raggedy-looking
cuckoos with odd, puffin-like bills, whose communal roosts are
betrayed by the birds' rather strong odor. Unlike typical cuckoos,
which are brood parasites, the anis nest in colonies and frequently
care for their young communally. Here, a Spectral Bat stalks a group
of Smooth-billed Anis (<i>C. ani</i>) through the foliage of a
Saragundi (<i>Senna reticulata</i>), a small tree of the mimosa
family, to which various medicinal properties are frequently
ascribed.<br />
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FLORA
AND FAUNA OF UPPER NACAPULE CANYON (2012)<br />
<i>acrylic on illustration board 24" x 16"</i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pYuqN-XtIO-rIqyUKBaRVoArC9ObFBnXE1eM6E9MSv1CIjPvEFFtuQ1UgwU9-qpP_gQOUcFPg2-RscxsTlVlbaGn0tdAoYkRWTLNPlYrWEBw8U6cZwGYqbMwsmosfhlBQGeW28mNH1pH/s1600/flora&fauna-of-upper-nacapule-canyon.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pYuqN-XtIO-rIqyUKBaRVoArC9ObFBnXE1eM6E9MSv1CIjPvEFFtuQ1UgwU9-qpP_gQOUcFPg2-RscxsTlVlbaGn0tdAoYkRWTLNPlYrWEBw8U6cZwGYqbMwsmosfhlBQGeW28mNH1pH/s400/flora&fauna-of-upper-nacapule-canyon.JPG" width="268" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt71El3gPlloStOhajkO3m7S1cha0C-3ll8nEGOn5nNhi_ibUa4U_w9XsizxaVvbH2ehph6jcL-yd0zwAMToZhWVX8WkkCUQUqAIp2C9uGG0GQk71mok7qdNzi6WNDHApPkprTpucwlIEp/s1600/brestvankempen-c-nacapule-key.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt71El3gPlloStOhajkO3m7S1cha0C-3ll8nEGOn5nNhi_ibUa4U_w9XsizxaVvbH2ehph6jcL-yd0zwAMToZhWVX8WkkCUQUqAIp2C9uGG0GQk71mok7qdNzi6WNDHApPkprTpucwlIEp/s320/brestvankempen-c-nacapule-key.JPG" width="212" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Situated
on the southeastern front of the Sierra El Aguaje, a volcanic
mountain range formed some five million years before the Sea of
Cortez, upon whose eastern flank it now sits, Nacapule Canyon harbors
a unique and diverse ecology, where tropical deciduous scrub forest
transitions into the Sonoran Desert community. It marks the northern
range limit of many tropical species and genera as well as the
southern limit of many Sonoran Desert taxa. The canyon takes its name
from the Nacapule Fig[1] (<i>Ficus pertusa</i>), one of three fig
species in the canyon. The small Rock Fig[2] (<i>Ficus petiolaris</i>)
sprawls up rock faces while the stately <i>Ficus insipidus</i>[3]
grows near the canyon floor, which is dominated by Mexican Fan
Palms[4] (<i>Washingtonia robusta</i>) and the smaller San Jose
Hesper Palm[5] (<i>Brahea brandegeei</i>), which also grows on the
igneous canyon slopes. The flora of the arid, south-facing slope is typical of the Sonoran Desert. It
includes many cacti, including the massive Cardon[6] (<i>Pachycereus
pringlei</i>), the Organpipe Cactus[7] (<i>Stenocereus thurberi</i>),
and the endemic Guaymas Hedgehog Cactus[8] (<i>Echinocereus
engelmannii llanuraensis</i>), two maguey species, <i>Agave
colorata</i>[9] and <i>A. chrysoglossa</i>[10], and such desert trees
as the Palo Blanco[11] (<i>Acacia willardiana</i>), Yellow Palo
Verde[12] (<i>Parkinsonia microphylla</i>) and Desert Ironwood[13]
(<i>Olneya tesota</i>). The flora of the more mesic north-facing
slope is more tropical. It includes the regional endemic shrubs
<i>Zanthoxylum mazatlanum</i>[14], a prickly-ash, <i>Coccoloba
goldmanii</i>[15], a sea-grape, and <i>Vallesia laciniata</i>[16], a
dogbane, and the Mexican Passionflower[17] (<i>Passiflora mexicana</i>).
The spurge family is the most diverse of Nacapule Canyon, with nine
genera and 16 species, including <i>Dalechampia scandens</i>[18] and
the endemic <i>Euphorbia pediculifera linearifolia</i>[19]. Other
interesting Nacapule plants include the Mescalito[20] (<i>Hechtia
montana</i>), a lithophytic bromeliad, and the aquatic Mexican
Primrose-willow[21] (<i>Ludwigia octovalvis</i>). A stream runs
persistently through the upper canyon in all but the driest years,
providing habitat for a rich invertebrate fauna that ranges from
simple worms like flatworms of the family Planariidae[22] and
molluscs like springsnails[23] (<i>Pyrgulopsis</i> sp.) to aquatic
insects like the Water Strider[24] (family Gerridae), the
Backswimmer[25] (family Notonectidae), and the giant water bug[26]
(<i>Lethocerus</i> sp.), aquatic insect larvae of caddisflies[27]
(order Trichoptera) and others, and aquatic naiads of Mayflies[28]
(family Heptageniidae), damselflies[29]--adult[30] (family
Coenagrionidae) and others. Aquatic beetles belonging to at least
three different families can be found in the stream, including the
lovely Sunburst Diving Beetle and its larva[31] (<i>Thermonectus
marmoratus</i>) and the Giant Water Scavenging Beetle[32]
(<i>Hydrophilus triangularis</i>). Amphibians include the Canyon
Treefrog[33] (<i>Hyla arenicolor</i>) and its tadpole[34] and the
Northwest Mexico Leopard Frog[35] (<i>Rana magnaocularis</i>) and its
tadpole[36]. A number of interesting reptile species call the canyon
home, including the Yaqui Slider[37] (<i>Trachemys yaquia</i>), which
is endemic to the region, and isolated populations of the Madrean
Alligator Lizard[38] (<i>Elgaria kingii</i>) and Boa Constrictor[39]
(<i>Boa constrictor</i>), the latter representing the northernmost
extreme of the species' range. Rarely seen is the cryptic Brown Vine
Snake[40] (<i>Oxybelis aeneus</i>). Commonly seen birds of the canyon
include the Red-tailed Hawk[41] (<i>Buteo jamaicensis</i>),
Broad-billed Hummingbird[42] (<i>Cynanthus latirostris</i>), Northern
Mockingbird[43] (<i>Mimus polyglottos</i>), Vermilion Flycatcher[44]
(<i>Pyrocephalus rubinus</i>), and Hooded Oriole[45] (<i>Icterus
cucullatus</i>). Most of Nacapule Canyon's mammal fauna is nocturnal.
Two conspicuous exceptions are the social White-nosed Coati[46]
(<i>Nasua narica</i>), from a tropical genus and the Desert Bighorn
Sheep[47] (<i>Ovis canadensis</i>), from a boreal genus.</span></span></span></span></div>
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ROCK,
PAPER, SCISSORS--SIDE-BLOTCHED LIZARDS <br />
<i>acrylic
on illustration board 16" x 20"</i><br />
<i> </i><span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcIdWEq69npu8HmQocPXAjnNURvXgWToo5bUViYRxrHoSbuMVuDOhrtj7kSc830KL4lhR3inIaNoywi-PXYH6ySB75eEXy1XtbCuWEFB5wkmLJUxaCIgpRyzb4j-7I61BN39A6iUmkToE/s1600/cpbvk-rock-paper-scissors.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcIdWEq69npu8HmQocPXAjnNURvXgWToo5bUViYRxrHoSbuMVuDOhrtj7kSc830KL4lhR3inIaNoywi-PXYH6ySB75eEXy1XtbCuWEFB5wkmLJUxaCIgpRyzb4j-7I61BN39A6iUmkToE/s1600/cpbvk-rock-paper-scissors.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
Through
most of the deserts of western North America, the Side-blotched
Lizard (<i>Uta stansburiana</i>) outnumbers all other lizard species
combined. The males of some populations manifest three different
forms: the orange-throats, which are hyper-masculine, the
blue-throats, which are moderately masculine, and the hypo-masculine
yellow-throats. Each form has an edge over one other form in the
competition for breeding. The aggressive orange-throats expend a
great deal of energy defending large territories with multiple
females, managing to keep most blue-throats out. The blue-throats
effectively defend small territories with single females against the
yellow-throats, which have no territories, but sneak onto the
territories of orange-throats to mate with their females while the
male is off chasing blue throats around. Presumably, each form has an
overall breeding advantage in different years depending on
conditions. It's believed that all modern Side-blotched Lizards are
descended from populations that manifested all three forms. The
yellow-throated form seems to be the first to disappear from a
population. Incidental species in this Sonoran Desert setting include
an Elephant Tree (<i>Bursera microphylla</i>), <span style="text-decoration: none;">Organpipe
Cactus (<i>Stenocereus thurberi</i>), Soaptree Yucca (<i>Yucca elata</i>)
and Turkey Vulture (<i>Cathartes aura</i>).</span><br />
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MELLER'S CHAMELEON & HOUSE GECKO (1994)<br />
<i>acrylic on illustration board 20” x 26”</i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VL6VwdzQ6eoZ0AOVtwgrfXuRj5JCLK2d1WljTcR7SsDl-FTWrEIgbARN4n3St6BM0tpFAIHXa6cK_Zxh8wh9DZmv4KkUeq2iKoDdkKeIU3BANMpVcnaqjhV2dQJdJPp5ZBdwCVTHEbM/s1600/cpbvk-mellers-LR.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567036730405604466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VL6VwdzQ6eoZ0AOVtwgrfXuRj5JCLK2d1WljTcR7SsDl-FTWrEIgbARN4n3St6BM0tpFAIHXa6cK_Zxh8wh9DZmv4KkUeq2iKoDdkKeIU3BANMpVcnaqjhV2dQJdJPp5ZBdwCVTHEbM/s400/cpbvk-mellers-LR.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 296px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Meller’s Chameleon (<span style="font-style: italic;">Chamaeleo melleri</span>), at two feet in length is the largest chameleon on mainland Africa. Like the rest of its family, this resident of the savannas of Malawi and Tanzania nails its prey with a well-aimed, sticky projectile tongue. Being of such ample size, it can extend the normal chameleon diet of insects to include such small vertebrates as the Tropical House Gecko (<span style="font-style: italic;">Hemidactylus frenatus</span>), a lizard that has been inadvertently introduced throughout the tropics and subtropics, including Arizona.<br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">APRIL HIBERNACULUM (2011)<br />
acrylic on illustration board 20” x 12”</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KvlyxUaN80S_E1oR5YrFjpFI-ZyJQdlV6-j2jzuP3RrpfA5QmLm_q9iJfJiQOACqtDf8QhKrKa95PmY6kbO6CbsZre0DYCQKkt1QxllKWyGiuQSwjQrGRx1P7tmPDLh6_PmMmT7-4jfx/s1600/cpbvk-april-hibernaculum1-lr.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685757753139968882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KvlyxUaN80S_E1oR5YrFjpFI-ZyJQdlV6-j2jzuP3RrpfA5QmLm_q9iJfJiQOACqtDf8QhKrKa95PmY6kbO6CbsZre0DYCQKkt1QxllKWyGiuQSwjQrGRx1P7tmPDLh6_PmMmT7-4jfx/s400/cpbvk-april-hibernaculum1-lr.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 236px;" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rattlesnakes
survive cold winters by hibernating, usually communally, in small
caverns called hibernacula. Returning to the site in autumn, they spend
more time inside the hibernaculum as the weather gets colder, and
daytime sunning sessions outside of the entrance become less frequent as
they become less effective. The process is reversed in the spring, with
the snakes spending a week or so sleeping in the cavern at night and
basking outside during the warmest hours before finally dispersing.
Until a decade ago, the rattlesnakes of much of the western U.S. were
considered members of a single species, <span style="font-style: italic;">Crotalus viridis</span>. Since then, it's become clear that <span style="font-style: italic;">C. viridis</span>
represented a large complex that taxonomists are still trying to
disentangle. The Great Basin Rattlesnake, which ranges from southeastern
Oregon through most of Nevada, western Utah and southern Idaho, has
gone from a subspecies of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. viridis</span> to a subspecies of <span style="font-style: italic;">C. oreganus</span>, the first species to be split from the group. Today, it's generally given its own species, <span style="font-style: italic;">C. lutusos</span>, which is likely to see further future splitting.
</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
A TRICK OF THE TAIL--BLUE-CROWNED MOTMOT & LANGSDORFF'S CORALSNAKE<br />
acrylic on illustration board 15" x 20"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIZZtjvwH8DyyEHX-jBOrM0Sx2eBjxlfKGhGdYka7FC7Aq7tdV_Dd9odowKiTDLEnekhBe2jfvY8OeG8ETAqDdIoEZm8MAG7iXMGf48OJ0ur1gbHJYuQQnP3v1gj_vQgSou6BipRVaAxw/s1600/cpbvk-trick.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694979326700171890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIZZtjvwH8DyyEHX-jBOrM0Sx2eBjxlfKGhGdYka7FC7Aq7tdV_Dd9odowKiTDLEnekhBe2jfvY8OeG8ETAqDdIoEZm8MAG7iXMGf48OJ0ur1gbHJYuQQnP3v1gj_vQgSou6BipRVaAxw/s400/cpbvk-trick.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 298px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US">Tail-thrashing behavior in
snakes is not limited to rattling. It can be a prelude to battle or
mating, or a means of evading predators. Some fossorial boids like
Calabar Pythons (<i>Charina=Calabaria reinhardtii</i>) and Rubber
Boas (<i>C. bottae</i>) wave their blunt tails about while hiding
their heads. Some elapid snakes, like Langsdorff's Coralsnake
(<i>Micrurus langsdorffii</i>) of the northwest Amazonian Basin,
confuse the enemy by moving both ends simultaneously, in a display
known as self-mimicry. In this painting, the coralsnake's antagonist
is a Blue-crowned
Motmot (</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="en-US">
<i>Momotus momota</i><span style="font-style: normal;">),
a member of a family of inconspicuous but colorful tropical American
forest birds. Except for one uncommon species, they are notable for
their two elongated central tail feathers with a section of
loosely-anchored barbs that quickly fall away, leaving naked shafts
and a characteristic racket-tail. The Blue-crowned is the most
widespread motmot, ranging from Mexico to Trinidad and northern
Argentina. Like the rest of its family, it feeds on some fruits and a
variety of arthropods and small vertebrates, including snakes.
Research has shown that motmots shun the bold black, pale and red
pattern typical of the highly venomous coralsnakes but it has yet to
be determined how they react to the unusual pattern of Langsdorff's
Coralsnake, which lacks black rings. This painting displays a
hypothetical take on this situation. Incidental species include an
unidentified snail of the superfamily Helicoidea, ants of the genera
</span><i>Allomerus</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> and
</span><i>Paraponera</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, a fulgorid
planthopper (</span><i>Pterodictya reticularis</i><span style="font-style: normal;">)
and a Long-billed Starthroat (</span><i>Heliomaster longirostris</i><span style="font-style: normal;">).</span>
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AN ATLANTIC BRACKISH SWAMP<br />
acrylic on illustration board 20” x 15”<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEOvz1MpD4awjDDaGeua_kDok-1tjHHGfNiLAUBn53W7r5e88zfJup-1Y2pfWa8-mVWL7FaaCMZ-Ral8KstjJO2bllxyn3qjIrkSBj5psyFoa7LGIuOavApEUNSHX5Bi6kW_6rdf_3RfHu/s1600/cpbvk-atlantic.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694981225810204642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEOvz1MpD4awjDDaGeua_kDok-1tjHHGfNiLAUBn53W7r5e88zfJup-1Y2pfWa8-mVWL7FaaCMZ-Ral8KstjJO2bllxyn3qjIrkSBj5psyFoa7LGIuOavApEUNSHX5Bi6kW_6rdf_3RfHu/s400/cpbvk-atlantic.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a>An Eastern Garter Snake (<span style="font-style: italic;">Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis</span>) disturbs the glassy surface of an Atlantic brackish swamp in an inadvisable advance toward a Common Snapping Turtle (<span style="font-style: italic;">Chelydra serpentina</span>). Incidental subjects include a Blue Crab (<span style="font-style: italic;">Callinectes sapidus</span>), shoreline wolf spider (<span style="font-style: italic;">Pirata</span> sp.), Dragonhunter (<span style="font-style: italic;">Hagenius brevistylus</span>), mosquitos (<span style="font-style: italic;">Culex</span> sp.), Banded Killifish (<span style="font-style: italic;">Fundulus diaphanus</span>) and Belted Kingfisher (<span style="font-style: italic;">Megaceryle alcyon</span>).<br />
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CREEKSIDE CONCLAVE--VARIED HARLEQUIN TOADS (2009)<br />
acrylic on illustration board 24” x 18” <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxyvsxC6ayB08vlPwXh8lPHhjdoCHae6guOrW9sQ2hqw5NnWqYPWSZRFJXxrFaFx57G7ELGIPbHqdZKjTviMvV31BC0O6wGh9B10syRQVeX7uB7UGX-cJJ54UGLjZDl_e46rfZSanEoV8/s1600/cpbvk-creeksideconclave.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567110857169439810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxyvsxC6ayB08vlPwXh8lPHhjdoCHae6guOrW9sQ2hqw5NnWqYPWSZRFJXxrFaFx57G7ELGIPbHqdZKjTviMvV31BC0O6wGh9B10syRQVeX7uB7UGX-cJJ54UGLjZDl_e46rfZSanEoV8/s400/cpbvk-creeksideconclave.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 301px;" /></a>
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During the dry season, over 100 populations of Varied Harlequin Toads
(<i>Atelopus varius</i>) once congregated along forest streams in
Costa Rica and western Panama to breed. Cloaked in a wide variety of
colors and patterns, these beautiful amphibians ranged from cream to
lemon yellow, to lime and scarlet, or various combinations of these
base hues, splotched or barred with brown, green or black. Ranging in
length from one to two inches, the adult males averaged about a
quarter smaller than the females. Their gaudiness was probably a case
of aposematic, or warning coloring, as their skin contained
quantities of the toxic alkaloid tetrodotoxin. In the late 1980s,
most populations began a steep decline, beginning in central Costa
Rica. The Panamanian frogs didn't start to crash until about 1992.
The causes of this crash are not completely understood, but the
insidious chytrid fungus <i>Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis</i> played
an important role, and is thought to have driven over half the
members of the genus <i>Atelopus</i> to extinction in the wild, and
been the direct cause of much global frog decline. It is believed
that the fungus originated in Africa, and was transported around the
world on the skins of African Clawed Frogs (<i>Xenopus laevis</i>),
which were widely used for human pregnancy tests as well as other
laboratory studies. Wild populations of <i>A. varius</i> were feared
extinct, but a small population near Quepos, Costa Rica, discovered
in 2003, perseveres. Incidental species in the painting include a
leaf-cutter ant (<i>Atta</i> sp.), the butterfly <i>Morpho amathonte</i>,
a Cloud-forest Anole (<i>Anolis tropidolepis</i>) and a Blue-gray
Tanager (<i>Thraupis episcopus</i>).
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<br />
EASTERN KINGBIRD & LONG-EARED OWL (2011)<br />
India ink wash & watercolor on paper 22" x 16"<
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_J-QC58d2X7SUvuiDSVkEUF6M0NoY5IiYQj93rpfwiM9XdnTODYmsSVpurRCOTghe3bD2HVZkFkSeHwEPy6x8pP5pLteDI_9fheRxWP6IsdC_VuonKSQm9e6VyA6LVWgZgxqekDLkljv3/s1600/cpbvk-kingbird-longear-c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_J-QC58d2X7SUvuiDSVkEUF6M0NoY5IiYQj93rpfwiM9XdnTODYmsSVpurRCOTghe3bD2HVZkFkSeHwEPy6x8pP5pLteDI_9fheRxWP6IsdC_VuonKSQm9e6VyA6LVWgZgxqekDLkljv3/s400/cpbvk-kingbird-longear-c.jpg" width="288" /></a><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
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Long-eared Owls (<i>Asio
otus</i>) nest and roost in heavy woods, which is where we normally
see them, but at night when they're foraging, they are creatures of
open meadows; here in the Rocky Mountains, they frequently hunt in
sage steppes. In this painting I took away the normal button-eyed
expression of the Long-eared Owl and replaced it with one of dismay
and abject annoyance. Eastern Kingbirds (<i>Tyrannus tyrannus</i>)
have a red crown patch that's almost always completely obscured by
black feathers. As kind of a joke, I used a touch of watercolor to
show those red feathers peeking through.<br />
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OWLS OF THE USA AND CANADA (2017)<br />acrylic on panel 18" x 24"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AztG6wgIWu5Z3Rh00HWk9ptLrTi1-DjyKG9oeocV7gwaqnSLhyphenhypheniW8lrhBYDgrhisGUvaEts4TJc7XSrFQ0VLC0lUuUadSQdctnF__kLAkH9_QZe7FNYGX0wdyJbm3PrSqHf-ge5bvoOv/s1600/bvk-owlsoftheusaandcanada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AztG6wgIWu5Z3Rh00HWk9ptLrTi1-DjyKG9oeocV7gwaqnSLhyphenhypheniW8lrhBYDgrhisGUvaEts4TJc7XSrFQ0VLC0lUuUadSQdctnF__kLAkH9_QZe7FNYGX0wdyJbm3PrSqHf-ge5bvoOv/s320/bvk-owlsoftheusaandcanada.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbX1_RN2NaRZtTd5rXvli93GuTDyEx8akp9wwLR3P8Sh9YDtesvFTmQJUwSlrgZPow8FnYrEPPfHvLqfCYvOmXxa05RPGHgXG2s5NOFYxoQGndMsjzXCHt4-v0hEBPw_FSgNDxNFwpf-XS/s1600/key-to-owls-2-1287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="1600" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbX1_RN2NaRZtTd5rXvli93GuTDyEx8akp9wwLR3P8Sh9YDtesvFTmQJUwSlrgZPow8FnYrEPPfHvLqfCYvOmXxa05RPGHgXG2s5NOFYxoQGndMsjzXCHt4-v0hEBPw_FSgNDxNFwpf-XS/s200/key-to-owls-2-1287.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Family Strigidae:</b> Great Gray Owl [1](<i>Strix nebulosa</i>), Spotted Owl [2] (<i>Strix occidentalis</i>), Barred Owl [3] (<i>Strix varia</i>), Elf Owl [4] (<i>Micrathene whitneyi</i>), Mountain Pygmy Owl [5] (<i>Glaucidium gnoma</i>), Northern Pygmy Owl [6] (<i>Glaucidium californicum</i>), Ridgway's Pygmy Owl [7] (<i>Glaucidium ridgwayi</i>), Northern Hawk Owl [8] (<i>Surnia ulula</i>), Northern Saw-whet Owl [9] (<i>Aegolius acadicus</i>), Boreal Owl [10] (<i>Aegolius funereus</i>), Burrowing Owl [11] (<i>Athene cunicularia</i>), Snowy Owl [12] (<i>Bubo scandiacus</i>), Great Horned Owl [13] (<i>Bubo virginianus</i>), Flammulated Owl [14] (<i>Psiloscops flammeolus</i>), Whiskered Owl [15] (<i>Megascops trichopsis</i>), Western Screech Owl [16] (<i>Megascops kennicottii</i>), Eastern Screech Owl [17] (<i>Megascops asio</i>) Gray morph, Eastern Screech Owl [18] (<i>Megascops asio</i>) Red morph, Long-eared Owl [19] (<i>Asio otus</i>), Short-eared Owl [20] (<i>Asio flammeus</i>) <b>Family Tytonidae:</b> American Barn Owl [21] (<i>Tyto furcata</i>)</div>
Carel Brest van Kempenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02526786631222320968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864799815471829047.post-78446626284130549502012-07-02T09:33:00.002-07:002012-07-02T09:33:50.203-07:00TIME LAPSE FILM CLIPSMy acrylic paintings begin with a detailed underpainting, usually done in raw umber. This step establishes the forms and textures, but pays little heed to space and lighting. Next, the substrate is tinted, and the actual painting is begun. Once the subjects are established, I mask them with liquid latex, which facilitates painting the background. When I've get the values close to the way I want them, the latex is peeled off and the final details are completed.<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kR2sCiJG7GM" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fJfVBOoG2mI" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TeoV4Qfw5R8" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SgIrcYh-1ow" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9h5FBibFx94" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jL5KZWDe8x8" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VuW1rU1uiQg" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/49J533fnO-s" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8cjRAHL-0UA" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IFtl7UhL2BM" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe>Carel Brest van Kempenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02526786631222320968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864799815471829047.post-70453906257888306172012-07-02T09:32:00.002-07:002017-10-11T11:17:00.987-07:00ITINERARY<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>BIODIVERSITY IN</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><b>THE ART of CAREL PIETER BREST van KEMPEN</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br />Produced by David J. Wagner, L.L.C.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">David J. Wagner, Ph.D., Curator/Tour Director</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><u>ITINERARY</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">(Dates subject to change. Be sure to check with venues for exact days/hours of admission.)<br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />MUSEUM OF ARTS AND SCIENCES<br />October 1 - December 31, 2019</b><br />352 S. Nova Road<br />Daytona Beach, FL <br />(386) 255-0285; <a href="http://moas.org/">moas.org</a></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />THE CHICAGO ACADEMY OF SCIENCES<br />Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum<br />May 18 – September 8, 2019</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Lincoln Park 2430 North Cannon Drive<br />Chicago, IL<br />(773) 755-5100; <a href="http://naturemuseum.org/">naturemuseum.org</a></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="margin: 0px;">SHAFER MEMORIAL ART GALLERY</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="margin: 0px;">Barton Community
College<br />
In Collaboration with Kansas Wetlands Education Center </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="margin: 0px;">March 2 - April 28, 2019</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Great Bend, KS </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">(620) 792-9342; </span>bartonccc.edu/community/shafergallery </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">GEORGE A. SPIVA CENTER FOR THE ARTS</span><br />May 12 - July 2, 2017</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /> 222 W. 3rd Street<br />Joplin, MO<br />(417)623-0183; <a href="http://spivaarts.org/">spivaarts.org</a></span><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><br />HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE at SUGARLAND</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">October 2, 2015 - February 28, 2016</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />13016 University Blvd.<br />Sugar Land, TX 77479<br />(281)313-2277; <a href="http://hmns.org/">hmns.org/sugarland</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://hmns.org/"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></a></span><a href="http://hmns.org/"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>STERNBERG MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY</b><b><br />January 17 - May 3, 2015 (Held over through August 31)</b><br />Fort Hays State University<br />3000 Sternberg Drive<br />Hays, KS 67601<br />887-332-1165; <a href="http://sternberg.fhsu.edu/">sternberg.fhsu.edu</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>MARI SANDOZ HIGH PLAINS HERITAGE CENTER</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b> June</b><b> 1 - September 30, 2014</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chadron State College<br />1000 Main Street<br />Chadron, NE 69337<br />800-CHADRON;</span> <a href="http://www.sandozcenter.com/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">sandozcenter.com</span></a><br />
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<b>KENOSHA PUBLIC MUSEUM</b></div>
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<b>August 11 - September 16, 2012 </b></div>
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5400 First Avenue </div>
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Kenosha, WI </div>
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(262) 653-4140; <a href="http://kenosha.org/museum">kenosha.org/museum</a></span><br />
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<b>HIRAM BLAUVELT ART MUSEUM<br />December 5, 2011 - March 15, 2012 (Held over through June 30th)</b><br />
705 Kinderkamack Road </div>
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Oradell, NJ<br />
(201) 261-0012; <a href="http://www.blauveltartmuseum.com/">blauveltartmuseum.com</a><b><br /><br />ARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM ART INSTITUTE<br />July 2 - October 31, 2011</b></div>
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2021 N Kinney Road <br />
Tucson, AZ<br />
(520) 883-2702; <a href="http://www.desertmuseum.org/">desertmuseum.org</a></div>
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<b>WILDLING ART MUSEUM<br />January 8, 2006 - March 5, 2006</b><br />
2329 Jonata St., Los Olivos (Santa Barbara), CA<br />
(805) 688-1082; <a href="http://www.wildlingmuseum.org/">wildlingmuseum.org</a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>THE WILDLIFE EXPERIENCE<br />November 1, 2003 – January 4, 2004</b><br />10035 South Peoria Street, Parker (Denver), CO<br />(720) 488-3300; <a href="http://www.thewildlifeexperience.org/">thewildlifeexperience.org</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><b>THE ART OF CAREL PIETER BREST VAN KEMPEN</b></span><br />is available for display at art, cultural, and scientific institutions. </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br />For tour information, contact:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">DAVID J. WAGNER, L.L.C., </span><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i>ART AND THE ANIMAL</i> TOUR OFFICE<br />(414) 221-6878; davidjwagnerllc@yahoo.com</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br />David J. Wagner, Ph.D., Tour Director<br /><a href="http://davidjwagnerllc.com/">davidjwagnerllc.com</a>; <a href="http://american-wildlife-art.com/">american-wildlife-art.com</a></span></b></div>
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<b> <span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: "franklin gothic medium" , sans-serif;">MEMBER </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />American Alliance of Museums</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> International Council of Museums </span></div>
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Carel Brest van Kempenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02526786631222320968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864799815471829047.post-6386767516972954132012-07-02T09:31:00.002-07:002012-07-02T09:31:53.331-07:00CURATOR'S STATEMENTINTRODUCTION TO BIODIVERSITY IN THE <span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class="" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span><br />ART OF CAREL PIETER BREST van KEMPEN<br /><br />Excerpted from <a href="http://www.rigorvitae.net"><span style="font-style: italic;">Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding</span></a><br /><br />The world is filled with artists who aspire to faithfully render nature into art. But they are either misguided or deluded. An artist cannot transcribe what he sees in nature into art; he can only translate it through his medium. As the eminent aesthetician, Ernst H. Gombrich wrote, “ . . . the correct portrait, like the useful map, is an end product on a long road through scheme and correction. It is not a faithful record of a visual experience but the faithful construction of a relational model.”<br /><br />Several other insights of Gombrich set the stage for this exhibition. Of conception and perception, Gombrich wrote, “ . . . all art originates in the human mind, in our reactions to the world rather than in the visible world itself, and it is precisely because all art is ‘conceptual’ that all representations are recognizable by their style.” Of style, Gombrich said, “Styles, like languages, differ in the sequence of articulation and in the number of questions they allow the artist to ask; and so complex is the information that reaches us from the visible world that no picture will ever embody it all. That is not due to the subjectivity of vision but to its richness.”<br /><br />Since wildlife is central to the imagery of Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen, he is generally thought of as a “wildlife artist.” But this is not how I think of him, nor how I think he should be remembered. I think of Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen as a wildlife artist with imagination. In the world of wildlife art, this is no small distinction. Because most wildlife artists aspire to faithfully render nature into art, they suffer from a corollary that is equally false: in order to render nature into art, a painter must paint every minute detail to perfection. For many wildlife artists today, this is pursued through heavy reliance on reference photography. While it is impossible, as Gombrich said, to render nature into art, it is possible to construct a relational model through whatever style an artist chooses. Like many of his colleagues, Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen chooses to paint in a detailed, representational style, but that’s where the similarity ends.<br /><br />Because Brest van Kempen is a thinker at heart, he begins his creative process where he should, at the beginning, by using his imagination to conceptualize a painting before he ever puts pencil to paper. To transform his concept into composition and design, he works his ideas out through preliminary sketches. After he is satisfied with his concept and design, only then does he embark on the final painting. Throughout the process, Brest van Kempen employs a rich vocabulary of principles, to arrange elements in ways that give him his own distinctive, individual style. In composition and design, elements (e.g., color, value, line, texture, shape, and space) are like building blocks, while principles (e.g., balance, dominance, economy, emphasis, variety, gradation, movement, harmony, rhythm, proportion, space, variety) are like tools that artists use to assemble elements. Whereas the number of elements and principles in art is constant, the number of ways to combine them is infinite. This is important because it permits individual painters to express themselves in their own style. Brest van Kempen typically achieves his style by emphasizing elements such as line, color, space, and point of view.<br /><br />Because Brest van Kempen works from nature, and nature is a miracle of infinite proportion, another important part of Brest van Kempen’s process is a constant push for new knowledge. About the ecology of his paintings, Brest van Kempen has said, “I'm really interested in what animals look like, but I'm much more fascinated by the way that appearance functions as those animals interact with one another and with their environment. Ecology is the motivating force not only of evolution, but of my artwork.”<br />Brest van Kempen’s reaction to the world around him, rather than a desire to faithfully render nature into art, and his ability to embody his imaginative concepts through well-honed technique, are hallmarks of his paintings.<br /><br />Whereas these hallmarks are a giveaway for personality characteristics such as an unquenchable imagination and an insatiable need to know and understand nature, the degree to which Brest van Kempen relies on sheer talent versus tenacious hard work, is less clear. His art seems so effortless, but its richness and depth makes one wonder just how effortless it is.<br /><br />In addition to imagination, there is something else about his paintings that elevates them a cut above the rest. What could that be? I think it is the pure and simple joy that comes from relishing the work that he does as an imaginative wildlife artist. In each of his paintings, there is an undercurrent of joy. Often this can be seen in the subjects he selects. Brest van Kempen’s subjects do not often include cliché glamour species like those painted ad infinitum by other artists; rather, they comprise under-represented species which give real meaning to the term, biodiversity. To make my point, here are but a few titles from Brest van Kempen exhibitions that I have had the privilege to curate: Bat Falcon & Golden Free-tailed Bat, Meller’s Chameleon & Leaf-toed Gecko, Gripping Tail--Yellow Baboon & White-Throated Monitor, Hippopotamus & Nile Softshell Turtles, Manned Wolves & Three-banded Armadillo, Reticulated Python and Masked Finfoot, and his masterful triptych, Convoy Through the Canopy--de Brazza’s Monkeys. Such titles would make any wildlife art aficionado smile. They also underscore my point, which is, no other wildlife artist that I know, consistently takes the kinds of creative risks that Brest van Kempen takes in his selection of subjects and activities.<br /><br />Another manifestation of joy in the paintings of Brest van Kempen is the relationship in which he places the viewer to his subjects, or, in other words, perspective. I can think of no wildlife artist who has produced a body of work that consistently affords viewers with richer perspectives than Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen. His creative and engaging perspective is yet another hallmark of his unique style.<br /><br />Brest van Kempen’s perspective, combined with his virtuosic technique and tantalizing imagination, give his paintings a richness and depth that is rare in the world of wildlife art. For aestheticians or art historians like me, these characteristics are critical for assessing art. Depth, after all, is what keeps viewers coming back and interested in more. Richness and depth are the secrets to great art. They are what makes art endure.<br /><br />It is a pleasure to work with an artist the caliber of Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen and to serve as Curator/Tour Director of his exhibition, BIODIVERSITY IN WILDLIFE ART. PAINTINGS BY CAREL PIETER BREST van KEMPEN have been and continue to be enjoyed at important venues nationwide, among them, The Wildling Art Museum in Santa Barbara, The Wildlife Experience in Denver, and The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson.<br /><br />Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen lives and works in Salt Lake City. He is a member of the Society of Animal Artists, and is a six-time recipient of its highest honor, the Award of Excellence, in 1994, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006 and 2010. Other information about the artist and his art and ideas can be found on his <a href="http://www.cpbrestvankempen.com/">website</a> or his <a href="http://rigorvitae.blogspot.com/">blog</a>.<br /><br />David J. Wagner, Ph.D.<br /> Curator/Tour Director<br /><br />David J. Wagner is president of a limited liability corporation that produces traveling exhibitions and provides curatorial, educational, and museum management services nationwide. Dr. Wagner wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on wildlife art history, taught museum studies at several colleges and universities, and served as a museum director for twenty years. Today he works independently as Curator/Tour Director for the Society of Animal Artists, a world-wide organization headquartered in New York, which regularly features paintings by Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen in its traveling exhibition, ART AND THE ANIMAL. In addition to numerous other group exhibitions and tours, Dr. has organized important one-man museum exhibitions by select artists which include THE ART OF ROBERT BATEMAN, EXQUISITE MINIATURES OF WES AND RACHELLE SIEGRIST, LEROY NEIMAN: ON SAFARI, and KENT ULLBERG A RETROSPECIVE. His book AMERICAN WILDLIFE ART (www.american-wildlife-art.com), which was released by Marquand Books in 2008, has been recognized as the definitive reference source on the subject.<br /><br />REFERENCE: E.H. Gombrich, Art and Illusion, A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation, Princeton University Press, 1960.Carel Brest van Kempenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02526786631222320968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5864799815471829047.post-85578897512167410462012-07-02T09:30:00.000-07:002012-07-02T09:30:55.974-07:00ARTIST'S STATEMENTAs ecology is the engine that drives evolution, so is it the motivating force behind my work. As a visual artist, I'm concerned with form, but as a naturalist it's function that fascinates me, and my work explores the relationship between the two. When I select a subject, I typically try to find a way to display as articulately as I can the qualities that make that species unique, and how those qualities function in an ecological setting. Every technical aspect of the painting – composition, palette, scale, etc., hopefully serve to emphasize this point. The motivation of the subject is an essential component of this process, and making this motivation clear to the viewer is an important objective. Each work in this exhibition is accompanied by a short statement that adds the kind of thematic detail for which painting is poorly suited.<br />
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Acrylic is my primary medium, and the one I understand the best. Each painting begins with a series of pencil sketches which eventually lead to a rather detailed pencil drawing, which is enlarged and traced onto the substrate, usually illustration board. A complete underpainting in raw umber establishes the forms and textures, and colors are added to build a sense of space and mood. This process can be observed in the time-lapse film clips. For concepts requiring a rougher look, I prefer oil paints, and for black and white I enjoy washes of India ink.<br />
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As human impact on the natural world increases, our routine awareness of that world and our active participation in its processes diminish. But whether it's visible to us or not, our lives are irrevocably dovetailed into the vibrating matrix of nature. It's my hope that the little stories told in my paintings might awaken in the viewer a heightened sensitivity to the tiny ripples broadcast throughout that natural matrix by every one of its components.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">C. P. Brest van Kempen</span>Carel Brest van Kempenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02526786631222320968noreply@blogger.com1