Saturday, June 4, 2016

desert vulture

This item is for sale on ebay here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/252413793887?
This original painting was inspired by many things: my love of vultures, my love for the desert, and my love for withered things...or things that can survive under the harshest of circumstances.
Vultures have always fascinated me. When I was younger and a group of us were driving to Mexico for Spring Break, we came across a group of vultures picking away at a carcass in the middle of the highway. They were so bold they would not move for us. The driver had to slam on the breaks to stop from hitting them. I wanted to take a picture of them but the driver wouldn't stop long enough for me to get my camera out. He screamed at me, "No way am I stopping! Vultures are nasty!" I kept quiet even though I didn’t agree.
Vultures have been called "nature's environmentalists." Imagine how messy this world would be without vultures. The ancient Egyptians believed that the vulture brought your soul to heaven. They probably drew this conclusion by seeing a group of vultures picking away at a carcass and then flying up into the sky.