Earlier this year, the Society of Animal Artists (SAA) notified its members that the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum’s Ironwood Gallery was organizing a special show on endangered species of the southwest. “We’re Back! Successes in Vanishing Circles” will illustrate the resilience of those species and the success of efforts to increase their populations. The gallery’s art collection includes most of the species to be shown, with the exception of the San Esteban Chuckwalla lizard and the California Brown Pelican. The SAA encouraged its members to submit pieces depicting those two species for inclusion in the show. I wanted to contribute to this show, and had good photo references from which I could produce a painting of the California Brown Pelican. However, I have never traveled to Baja California where the San Esteban Chuckwalla is found, and I insist on using only my own reference material for paintings. Fortunately, I discovered that the St. Louis Zoo, which is only about a half-hour from where I live, has this species on exhibit. A quick trip to the zoo resulted in good photos of the chuckwalla resting on a faux desert cliff in its enclosure. Using those photos and reference background photos from my trips to the desert southwest, I was able to compose and execute an oil painting of the San Esteban Chuckwalla. I am very pleased that both of my entries will appear in this important show that emphasizes the importance of conservation efforts to preserve species that are under severe pressures from habitat degradation from human activities, in my opinion most importantly climate change. The show runs from September 7 through November 3, 2024.
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