Painting in “45th Parallel” show at Phipps Center

“The Arctic Green Zone” by C. B. Murphy

I just got this painting in a show at the Phipps Center for the Arts (Hudson, WI). The theme of the show is the “45th Parallel” celebrating  the fact that the Twin Cities area is half way between the arctic and the equator. My image of of the earth shot from space after the global ice cap has melted. Perhaps it’s a poster from the future celebrating the lighter side of global warming. The words “Arctic Green Zone” appear in several graphically interesting languages (Chinese, Russian, and Arabic besides English). The foliage is an homage the the painter Rousseau who got famous for painting jungle scenes all from his visits to indoor plant conservatory in Paris. My animals are an homage to the “Peaceable Kingdom” painted by Edward Hicks in the early 1800s. The space ship with the UN logo is more or less Flash Gordon.