Last Dance	Candy McManiman
	Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) 2012	Union, Ontario, Canada
	Acrylic 10" x 20"	link to examples of McManiman's art
This painting is about rapid evolution caused by our manipulation of habitat. In Colorado, the Greater Prairie Chicken displays on grassy prairies that were once a huge inland sea. Many of the grasslands that provided areas for lekking and nesting are now utilized for growing corn feed for cattle. The bird is only partially painted to reflect its diminishing habitat. This painting is also about "slow" evolution, about the millions of years it took the area to evolve as the inland sea retreated. Fossils in the soil reveal an Ichthyosaur and crinoid, which are no more. I hope that this will not be the future of the Greater Prairie Chicken, but because the risk of extinction is so high, the painting is called Last Dance. keywords (defined): keywords (additional): birds, grouse