The Old Growth Fine Art Print

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The Old Growth: North American Megafauna Project, #4
Cervalces scotti and Virgin's Bower Vine

11” x 17”

Printed on uncoated acid-free paper with fade-resistant, archival inks.

While they’re not the widest of any megafauna species (that distinction belongs to its European counterpart Megaloceros), the palmate antlers of Cervalces Scotti are among the most complex of their time. Also once vast were the old-growth forests of many areas of the Great Lakes region. Once, they could have rivaled the woodlands of the west coast in sheer size and lushness, but between the 1840s to early 1900s, the majority of forests in Michigan alone were clearcut by incoming lumber companies, destroying the homeland of indigenous peoples and native wildlife alike. This theme of grandeur now gone was the primary inspiration for The Old Growth.

“Palmate” means palm-like, and in the natural world refers to both a type of leaf, and the branching shape of antlers with tines are connected by broad, smooth sections. Thus I decided to depict C. scotti head-on, antlers dominating the space like a canopy, and modern-day Virgin’s bower vines tangled root-like through the skull. Virgin’s Bower is a modern vine that is classified as endangered in several states, alongside other species such as barn owls and terns, water-snakes, cougars and bats, and trees like the American chestnut. 

Handle gently to avoid damaging the velvety texture of this print, and frame using archival materials for longevity of display.

The Old Growth: North American Megafauna Project, #4
Cervalces scotti and Virgin's Bower Vine

11” x 17”

Printed on uncoated acid-free paper with fade-resistant, archival inks.

While they’re not the widest of any megafauna species (that distinction belongs to its European counterpart Megaloceros), the palmate antlers of Cervalces Scotti are among the most complex of their time. Also once vast were the old-growth forests of many areas of the Great Lakes region. Once, they could have rivaled the woodlands of the west coast in sheer size and lushness, but between the 1840s to early 1900s, the majority of forests in Michigan alone were clearcut by incoming lumber companies, destroying the homeland of indigenous peoples and native wildlife alike. This theme of grandeur now gone was the primary inspiration for The Old Growth.

“Palmate” means palm-like, and in the natural world refers to both a type of leaf, and the branching shape of antlers with tines are connected by broad, smooth sections. Thus I decided to depict C. scotti head-on, antlers dominating the space like a canopy, and modern-day Virgin’s bower vines tangled root-like through the skull. Virgin’s Bower is a modern vine that is classified as endangered in several states, alongside other species such as barn owls and terns, water-snakes, cougars and bats, and trees like the American chestnut. 

Handle gently to avoid damaging the velvety texture of this print, and frame using archival materials for longevity of display.

This print is part of Beastie and Bone’s North American Megafauna Project, which is an exploration of ancient extinct species from throughout the North American continent that pairs their remains with common modern day flora of the areas they once lived in. Integrating these past animals back into the landscapes we encounter today in this manner, instead of presenting them as sterile fossil specimens, encourages us to look differently at the shrinking wild spaces around us, and what else may soon no longer be found there unless conservation efforts are supported.

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