This is a Colored Pencil Painting of LUNA, a Mexican Gray Wolf. The original is 20"x16".

LUNA is a Mexican Gray Wolf, an endangered species here in the southwest US. The Mexican Gray Wolf is a subspecies of the Gray Wolf, and is the MOST ENDANGERED of the Gray Wolf subspecies in North America. My intention is to help support the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project through my artwork of the Mexican Gray Wolf.

Through Luna's eyes, I hope that the viewer will connect with the beautiful spirit of these most precious animals, who call to us for help, protection and support.

From Wikipedia: "After being listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1976, the United States and Mexico collaborated to capture all lobos remaining in the wild. This extreme measure prevented the lobos' extinction. Five wild Mexican wolves (four males and one pregnant female) were captured alive in Mexico from 1977 to 1980 and used to start a captive breeding program. From this program, captive-bred Mexican wolves were released into recovery areas in Arizona and New Mexico beginning in 1998 in order to assist the animals' recolonization of their former historical range.[6] As of 2021, there are 186 wild Mexican wolves, and 350 in captive breeding programs, a large improvement over the 11 individuals that were released in Arizona in 1998. 2021 was the most successful year to date for the recovery program, resulting in the highest number of individuals, pups born, pups survived, and packs. Approximately 60% of total individuals were found in New Mexico and 40% in Arizona although historically on average both states have had similar amounts of wolves. In 2021, the U.S. population had nearly doubled in the past 5 years. These numbers represent the minimum amount of wolves since survey numbers only include wolf sightings confirmed by Interagency Field Team staff."