Today’s Studio Closeup is a new piece from The Museum Series I've been working on for a few years now. I say museum but I also consider zoos in that category as well with how they build the "exhibits" for living animals as opposed to "dioramas" for deceased ones. And this diorama really reminds me of the inside of the (living) bird aviary at the Milwaukee County Zoo. I remember spending a couple cold birthdays visiting Milwaukee County Zoo as a kid. What always blew my mind was walking from the arctic cold of February in Wisconsin and into a 72 degree tropical oasis complete with waterfalls, ponds, plants and all kinds of birds everywhere. All the birds were in this environment together but all out in the open (no cage bars whatsoever) and you were so close to all of them; totally euphoric. I mention this because I’m working on a 1970s Milwaukee County Zoo series, but I’m still currently trying to figure out how I’m going to include the animals AND the park details so they all flow and make sense if you were to view all the pieces together as a whole in a gallery. This flamingo diorama might be later incorporated into the 1970s Milwaukee County Zoo series instead of The Museum Series proper just as a fair warning. You have been informed. To be continued.

Title: The Museum Series - Flamingo
Year: 2020
Media: Acrylic Paint, Paper Diorama, Wood Panel
Total Dimension: 8” x 8”