Most kids have a fascination for dinosaurs but at some point they usually grow out of it, but not Cliff Green. He is like a little kid in a candy shop when it comes to dinosaurs. His passion and love of paleontology and dinosaurs is apparent as he walks from one dinosaur to another in his garage-made-into-workshop.
Growing up in Southern California, Green migrated to Utah about seven years ago and has lived in Price almost four years.
“My passion is here,” said Green who has always had a love for animals, especially prehistoric. “Through the years I always wanted to be an artist.” He graduated from the art school in Phoenix, Ariz. and fell into sculpturing.
As a member of the State Friends of Paleontology and the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, he is wll connected with palentogoists all over the world.
He has worked as a professional artist specializing in extinct animals for almost a decade. Since June of 1999 he designed and sculpted the original bas reliefs of Tyrannosaurus Rex, and Camerasuarus Lentus, that now reside on the East and South sides of the North American Museum of Ancient Life in Lehi.
| This Animantarx was a winner at the 2004 Utah State Fair in the Creative Arts professional division. Found exclusively in Emery County, this model was built on a one to 10 scale. The creature is believed to be over 11 feet long. The Animantarx is a new dinosaur at the CEU Prehistoric Museum. |
He has been interested in paleontology all his life, always seeking more information, theories, papers, and books about the fascinating creatures of the past. In fact this past weekend he traveled to Denver, Colo. and attended the Society Vertebrate Paleontology annual meeting.
One of the newest theories he learned this past weekend was that most duckbills probably ran on four legs rather than two legs.
Green, who has been a professional sculptor for over a decade, has won first place in the creative arts division at the Utah State Fair for two years in a row.
Once making smaller scaled down models of dinosaurs he now only sculpts full size models. His newest creations are three full sized Velociraptors, all about six and a half feet high, will be shipped off to Connecticut next week. Painted in a desert shades of browns, greens, blues and reds, the tri will be shipped off to Nature’s Art Dinosaur Park in rural Connetitucut. These dinosaurs are found in Mongolia, however teeth from the creature have been found in Utah.