This weekend’s art show was in Richmond at Artspace Richmond for the closing reception of the #RestoreTheWild project from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources featuring the Eastern Hellbender, a very odd looking salamander found only in really really clean water in southwest Virginia. The gallery said the opening reception in February for this exhibit was the largest they’d ever had with more than 300 people coming to see the artwork! Despite (or perhaps because of) the unusual subject matter, there were 140 pieces entered in the show. We loved seeing all the really stunning work showcasing the salamander, including both natural illustration, artistic interpretation, and a youth division! Here are some of my favorites. Mine is in the wooden frame above our heads, I sure did my best to try and make the critter appealing! The winning artists’ work were chosen for promotional materials for the Division of Wildlife with a winner from each category. These were really amazing pieces and super well deserved recognition. It was a very fun evening made even better by the friendly folks we met there and the tasty Thai food from a neighboring restaurant which we had for dinner before returning to collect my piece at the very end of the reception.