Why Flamingos?

I gather inspiration for my pieces from all of my surroundings. It's why I love living where I do. But just because I live in the Coast doesn't mean I gather inspiration from pelicans or dolphins. Rather, I observe my surroundings and attempt to find the missing pieces to the broken puzzle I have buzzing around in my mind. Sometimes it's as simple as a walk in the park, but other times, like this particular one, I read the news.

A recent newscast broke last week about a young fraternity pledge attempting to steal a Chilean flamingo from our nearby zoo. I won't go in to much detail because of the gravity of the news story, but it really made me do some research on the Chilean flamingo. 

Flamingos are truly fragile birds. But they are also quite beautiful too. Conversations about flamingos rarely happen down here in Mississippi because we concern ourselves with local species like Loons, cranes, pelicans and Eagles. We have our share of endangered species, but flamingos are also a near-threatened species. Knowing what I know about our local cranes and how difficult it is for them to reproduce, flamingos are similar in that it takes a specific environment, climate, and little interruption in these things to convince them to breed. Zoo keepers do what they can in order to help them lay, but flamingoes usually lay 1-2 eggs at a time. 

So after the recent news story came out, I realized even though environmentalist in MS tend to focus on our local migratory birds, there is a representative species that acts in a similar manner to our cranes and loons. The flamingo is a fragile species, but with its magnificent colors, it's really an inspiring animal. 

Prints will be available of both versions of the flamingo. I'm also hoping to capture the pinks and oranges of the bird in some hand-colored prints. Find me on Facebook for more information!