oil painting on archival canvas panel
14”x11” unframed
signed VernitaTX © V. Bridges Hoyt 2005

Orangutan in Zoo Cage is in a private collection - Australia

This original oil painting was painted from a photograph taken by the artist at the Houston Zoological Gardens located in Hermann Park adjacent to the Texas Medical Center in Houston. The Texas Children's Hospital is just around the corner. "On a trip to the Houston Zoo, I empathized with this young orangutan who looked back at me with soulful eyes. Sunlight bouncing off the back cage wall outlined his hairy body and emphasized the contrast between the orangutan's dark red, almost violet color and the sunny day outside the cage. To me, this little one is a metaphor for the children whose beautiful souls are locked in the cage of their illness."

50% of proceeds were donated to Ronald McDonald House of Houston. The House is a home-away-from-home for families of seriously ill children being treated at the Texas Medical Center.