The sign is vintage Route 66.
It still hangs along old Route 66 in Albuquerque. It invites the weary traveler to drop by the Drive In Liquor Store.
Now, photorealist artist Richard Heisler is auctioning his 2004 watercolor and colored pencil work of the Drive In Liquor Store sign to raise money for the Littleton-based Pandas International nonprofit organization.
The bulk of the money — 90 percent — will go to Pandas International to provide supplies to both the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda and nearby Wolong, China, the remote village where most of the staff of the center live.
Heisler, a well-known “photorealism” painter who lives in Seattle, hopes that the auction will raise $4,000 to $5,000 for Wolong and the panda center, which were near the epicenter of the earthquake that hit China last month.
The panda center was heavily damaged as was Wolong, Heisler said.
According to a spokesperson at Pandas International, none of the pandas was killed, but a couple were injured, including one that wandered away from the facility and was eventually found in a nearby forest.
Littleton resident Suzanne Braden, director of Pandas International, is on her way to Wolong and the center, hoping to reach it by jeep by Monday.
Heisler said that although none of the scientists at the panda center were killed, five guards who patrol the area to keep poachers from the pandas died in landslides that accompanied the earthquake.
The artist said that in the days just prior to the earthquake, Pandas International shipped a nine-month supply of milk formula for feeding young panda cubs.
And since the earthquake, he said, Pandas International has provided 6,000 pounds of medical supplies directly to the people of Wolong through connections with Chinese officials and the Red Cross.
“Doctors and veterinarians are working side by side at all hours to see to the care of the highly endangered pandas and the devastated people of the area,” Heisler said. “It will take years and large amounts of financial and material support to return the area of Wolong and the giant panda research and breeding facility to their pre-earthquake status.”
Heisler — who devoted a couple of years painting the nostalgic signs lining Route 66 — said he has become devoted to the panda cause because of his fascination with the animals.
“I was reading about endangered animals and I didn’t realize how endangered they are. There are only about (1,100) left,” he said.
“They are really a very special and uniquely adapted animal. They defy every situation they are put in. They’ve defied expectation.”
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda
Location: In the Wolong Nature Preserve
Purpose: It was founded in 1980. It is a leader in panda research and helps protect the natural habitat of pandas. Captive pandas live at the center, which attracts about 100,000 visitors a year.
Source:
The auction. To participate in the auction to benefit Pandas International, go to and follow the link on the right side of the page.
