Wild Things Artwork
by Patsy Lindamood

36"H x 24"W Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord.

"Pondering Diminishing Options" will be on exhibit at The Art Center of Plano, Plano, TX, as part of the 2009 National Juried Exhibition of the Pastel Society of the Southwest.

My personal experience with silverbacks has been limited to zoos, primarily the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens in Florida which has three. I`ve been fascinated by them since the first time one looked me right in the eye while I was photographing him, as if he understood what I was doing and didn`t think much of it! The Western lowland gorilla has no known enemies except for humans, who have caused them to become endangered through the degradation of the tropical rainforest and illegal predation for profit. Their last chance for survival may well be a handful gorilla sanctuaries in Africa, zoos like the one in Jacksonville, and other protective captive environments. This silverback, head down and "back to the wall," symbolizes the shrinking options for the survival of the species. The world will be a "diminished" place if we fail to conserve them.