 |
|
|
"MOUNT LYELL"
by the Legendary American artist
Jerry Schurr
In 1987 The National Academy of the Arts for the Parks in cooperation with the National Parks Foundation ran a nationwide competition to search for the 100 artists (professional and non-professional alike) whose paintings best capture the "essence" of the landscapes, wildlife, and history of the more than 300 units of our National Park System. I entered my painting "Mount Lyell" in July of that year. Mount Lyell was chosen as one of the 100 winning paintings. The image is a grand view of the Yosemite's, Nevada and Vernal Falls and the snow capped Mount Lyell in the distance. This view connects the remote summits of the high Sierra Nevada with the intimate, lush, well watered, hospitable lower valleys of the park. Schurr's painting hung in the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, for three months along with the 99 other winners of the competition. He remembers this as a "A very proud moment in my career".
The image of this serigraph is 30" x 23"
MINT!
FROM THE RARE, SOLD OUT EDITION OF ONLY 290 PRINTS!
Hand Signed by Schurr and comes with COA
About the artist, in his own words:
 |
Over the last five years, I have been involved in a Monarch Butterfly raising, tagging and release program. The program called Magical Migrating Monarchs, was started by my sister, Judith Levicoff, and is designed to introduce people to the wonders and special qualities of Monarch Butterflies and at the same time show them how integral to our own health and well being all creatures large and small are.
As a working fine artist, my role for the program was to provide exciting, realistically accurate renderings of Monarchs, host plants which sustain the Monarchs and their larva, and also the various stages of Monarch metamorphosis. The work took me far afield. I traveled to the Mountains of Central Mexico, to observe the Monarch over-wintering sites of Michoacan. I visited Pacific Grove, on California's north central coast, which hosts hundreds of thousands of Monarchs from late October to March. I also spent the summer months raising Monarchs from eggs found during field trips to local wildflower meadows both in and around the Philadelphia area, where I live.
Prior to this project, my main artistic work had been painting the American landscape, but during these journeys to the Butterfly sites, my vision began to change dramatically. The thousands of Monarchs in California and millions in Mexico, dominate the landscape. Their colors fill every nook and cranny of the environment. The very air vibrates with their brilliance and gentle sounds and the ground pulsates with shimmering Monarch wings. Sunlight, air and color pervade and the feeling of life celebrating itself is everywhere. My butterfly drawings began to reflect this sense of celebration rather than the instructional aspect of the visuals for the Magical Migrating Monarch program. I remembered butterfly collecting that I'd done as a child and reached back to those early times of wonder. The butterflies and my excitement about them was still all there. I began to draw from those memories. These new butterflies needed their own world, so I created a "Sunlit Circle of Life" for them to soar in. The early butterflies were part of the surface of the paper. I felt that butterflies needed to be free, to fly, so I cut them out and raised them up into the air. The environment that I'd created also needed its own space and I raised that above the constraints of the background. Each butterflies that I work on represents the idealization of its species. I take a number of photographs and specimens of the species and develop an absolutely symmetrical butterfly. I use the and common name below it. So far, scientists have discovered about 20,000 species of butterflies and at least another 150,000 moths. As I explore this vast array of nature's bounty I'm constantly impressed by the power, detail, and majesty of these tiny creatures.
So far, I've tried to choose butterflies that have significant differences from each other. Wing, body shape, and color are the most obvious distinguishing factors, but as I get more knowledgeable, I'm discovering more and more nuances. Antennae, compound eyes, wing tails, and hair are examples of other fascinating features. I feel that I have just begun a journey that will last well beyond my ability to complete. But isn't the process of getting there the real joy of travel?
|
If you prefer to have this shipped flat, we can ship it to the lower 48 States flat for $34.95 including insurance.
About Us See our ME page and MY WORLD page for more information about Southern Professional Art, including details on our terms and policies.
Photos used in this template courtesy of Jupiter Images.
|
|
|
|
Shipping Artwork will be professionally shipped and packed with care. We normally ship UPS Ground domestically and USPS internationally. If the buyer wants us to ship to a PO Box we will ship via USPS with a tracking number and insurance, however, if the item is lost we will file all paperwork for the Post Office to investigate, but we will will not take any financial responsibility if the item is not received. International customers are responsible to pay all duties, tariffs, excise taxes, or any other costs related to importing their purchases into their country.This one ships fully insured for the purchase price plus auction fees. Canada, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Alaska, add $5. Other international customers please contact us for a shipping quote.
|
|
|
|
We accept MasterCard, Visa, Discover, Propay or Paypal & are a PayPal verified merchant.. Payment expected within 72 hours of auction closing. International customers please contact us for shipping costs. We encourage everyone to look, but PLEASE only bid if you intend to complete the purchase.
|
|
 |
|
 |
Want to see our most recent Customer Feedback? Click on the "ME" logo here & scroll down to the bottom: 
