Red Bird of Paradise, front and reverse artwork T-Shirt

Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra). Their earliest ancestral lineage is dated as far as 4,600,000 years ago, to the Zanclean Age; a prehistoric window of Time between 5,332,005/000 - 3,600,005/000 years ago. The Zanclean Age was the first of 2 Stages of the greater Pliocene Epoch, an significant passage of geological, oceanographic, biological and botanical changes for our planet, from 5,332,005/000 - 2,588,005/000 years ago. Today, these wondrous birds have an extremely limited range in 4 domains: Batanta Island, Gam Island, Waigeo Island and the coral atoll of Pulau Saonek Kecil (Small Saonek Island), located off the northwest coast of Waigeo. These locations are included in the maritime array of Raja Ampat Islands. This archipelago is governed by West Papua Province, of Western New Guinea. All of these specific destinations are part of the vast oceanic assemblage of the Republic of Indonesia. For this portrait, an adult male perches at the higher end of a branch. The adult female is focused on something beyond our vision, in a tropical world she knows very well. ** The illustration, done by Josef Wolf, is featured in a lavishly produced, numbered, limited edition folio, published in the 19th Century. Every featured bird was shown with a full colour book plate, printed on fine weave paper. A team of artists were commissioned to hand-colour the reproduced images. They used specific watercolors, diverse inks applied by feather quill pens, and chromatic pencils. The entire process was slow, meticulous and quite expensive. As individual artists finished each picture, special distinctions appeared. Enhanced lighting, diffused light or shadows, variations of colour in leaves, tree bark, moss, lichens, flowers and backgrounds. Skies suggested pending rain or afternoon sunshine. Atmosphere was depicted as mist, fog, overcast clouds or clear light. The finished books were achievements of beauty, knowledge and items of luxury. Each illustration for Birds of Paradise offered visions of something few people would ever get to see. These folio editions were sought by museums of natural history, libraries, universities, collages and anyone wealthy enough to not only appreciate them, but afford the cost. I present variations of this portrait on 2 other t-shirts, and this garment displays both of them. For all 3, I researched the correct English and scientific names of the species, and put the data on the lower border. I took care to assure that words and letter size compliment, not detract from the graphic works. You can always have this design for a sweatshirt, hoodie, drinking mug, poster, greeting card, gift wrapping paper, a blanket or towel and more. Zazzle makes it possible.