When John Audubon first saw a flamingo in 1832, he described it as “the most glorious effulgence that could be conceived.” The Audubon society emphasized the Florida flamingo as recorded in 1832 as pink, although, their more recent descendants are orange.
J. Steven Manolis' Flamingo Series reflects the artist's desire to bring awareness to how the flamingo have been severely affected by climate change. The early Audubon paintings of the flamingo show a much more vibrant pink bird. As pollution and climate change have affected the shrimp which the flamingo eats, the flamingo's color has changed to a more orange-pink color. Man must take care of the earth because the effects of the damage are permanent. Painting anything natural is also about celebrating beauty. “The combination of pink and orange, supplemented by synergistic colors, are among my favorite fascinations, and thus fair game for my abstract interpretations of beauty: then pink, now orange, coexisting as one creation.”
