VERMILION CONDOR FREEWAY

Oils on curved canvas

The Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness is a 112,500 acres (455 km2) wilderness area located in northern Arizona and southern Utah, United States, within the arid Colorado Plateau region. Known for its colourful swirls of slickrock, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument has been described as “a sherbet-coloured dream world” with fantastical rock formations like ‘The Wave’ which I have interpreted here, in a celebration of the reintroduction of the highly endangered Condor to the area.

In pre-historic times, California condors filled the skies over North America. Fast forward to the early 1980’s and the largest land-based bird on the American continent was virtually extinct. A dedicated captive breeding programme saved the species.

Thanks to a combination of outstanding conservation methods and dedicated conservationists, six captive parent-reared birds were released at the Vermilion Cliffs on the Paria Plateau in 1996. That population has swelled to over 200 today.

USC width: 90cm USC Height: 40cm USC Depth: 40cm