The Pollinator Partnership is seeking an artist to render the 2016 Pollinator Poster, this year focusing on “Trees for Bees.” To apply to illustrate the poster, please send a one-page narrative concept idea with a draft sketch to Kelly Rourke at [email protected] by Friday, December 11, 2015, by 3 PM PST. Final illustration will be due by Monday, February 1, 2016.

Background

The Pollinator Partnership (P2) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization-- the largest organization in the world dedicated to the protection and promotion of pollinators and their ecosystems. Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. They also sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce. Unfortunately, they are in trouble. Some species have seen a 90% decline in their populations over the last decade.  Without the actions of pollinators, agricultural economies, our food supply, and surrounding landscapes would break down.

If you are concerned about your ability to make a living as an artist under proposed changes to copyright law, it is time to act. Over 2600 letters were written in the initial comment period. Most by artists concerned about or against the proposed changes to copyright.  But now it is time to put a nail in the coffin. Below is a communication we are passing on from the Illustrators Partnership. Please take some time to read some of the letters written and either write a first one for yourself (in case you missed the initial opportunity), or comment on points made by others.  This is important to show that those interested in gaining access to your art, on their terms, will not have the last say...

Your GNSI Board of Directors supports strong protection for your copyrights and urges you to stand up and do the same. Writing a letter to the Copyright Office will have a real impact.

Sign up now for a special 3-D digital illustration workshop with instructor Chuck Carter at the Innovative Media Research and Commercialization Center, the University of Maine, Orono, October 23 through 25, 2015. The workshop "Visualizing Dinosaurs: Introduction to Science Illustration in 3-D" is sponsored by the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators as part of its continuing education series.

Participants will create a dinosaur scene in the 3-D program MODO®, learning how to render, add lighting, and make a series of images. The images will then be imported into Adobe®After Effects™ to explore basic animation, to create organic animation using the puppet tool, and how to use the 3D workspace to create a final animation.

Did you know the GNSI publishes a comprehensive Handbook of Science Illustration? Do you know the book? Do you use the Handbook regularly, or not at all?

We would like to hear from you about your knowledge of the Handbook and how you use it or don't use it. We have posted a brief SURVEY ON THE WEB (http://form.jotformpro.com/form/52585213694966) and ask that you respond whether or not you have a copy of the Handbook or use it, or even if you have never heard of it. The survey results will form the basis of an article in an upcoming issue of the Journal, and help us market this valuable resource.

GNSI President-elect Linda Feltner discusses her career and background with the Sierra Vista Herald, Arizona:

"Just about anywhere you go throughout the western hemisphere, Linda has either been there or her interpretive illustrations of wildlife habitats — accurate in every detail — have informed and guided your visits to national parks, museums and myriad other natural attractions.

Paleoartist and GNSI member Mark Klinger is featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Given Mark A. Klingler’s occupation, it’s no surprise he spent his childhood hiking through the woods looking for bugs, birds and other wildlife and representing what he saw with pencils and paintbrushes.

The Afterlife of Trees is an exhibit inspired by scientific research on tree decomposition. The Arts Center invites artists living or working in Oregon to submit artwork as a Request for Proposals to be considered for the January-February 2016 exhibit.

We invite artists to use the idea of “rot” or decomposition of trees in the forest as a starting point for the creation of artwork. This may include interpretations and visualizations of the concept of tree decay, research into their decay, as well as the environments where tree decay and research takes place. The ecological phenomena of tree decomposition in situ may inspire work of visual narratives, abstracted beauty, and ecological comments. While the artwork needs to deal with the concept of the decomposition of a tree(s) in the forest, it does not have to be about the specific site in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. Additionally, the exhibit will feature artwork with connections to science, but is not limited to that; poetic representation of situations of decomposition is also encouraged.

I am not a plumber. My extended professional artist family hoped I would take after my great-grandfather, become a successful plumber and make a great living, but a different direction called.

My focus from a very early age was nature and science, though initially from a culinary viewpoint—my mother said that as a toddler I was an avid hunter-gatherer, focused on berries and fat insects in our wild backyard.  Fortunately, this pursuit soon gave way to sketching, where my early hunting skills still came in handy.

"OC" (C Olivia) Carlisle is a recent graduate in Scientific Illustration from the University of Georgia. She studied medical, botanical and entomological subjects, creating detailed renderings using carbon pencil and dust, graphite, watercolor, pen & ink, in addition to computer illustration and graphics techniques as well as fine art. Carlisle's fine art, photography and scientific illustration have been shown in invitational, solo and juried exhibitions in the Southeast and beyond, collecting several awards along the way. Read about her experiences and goals in this article.

Southern Distinction magazine is a bi-monthly full-color magazine with a distribution throughout Northeast Georgia and the Golden Isles; online subscriptions will begin with the August-September issue.

When I was a kid the best part of going back to school was getting all new art supplies: crayons, pencils, erasers, paper, and a set of Prang watercolors complete with brush. That was BC (before computers) when we had low-tech materials and used some pretty basic techniques. One day the teacher showed us how to make crayon rubbings. We ran around making rubbings of all kinds of things, but my favorite was finding and using leaves. From those humble beginnings, I developed an interest in making scientifically accurate plant drawings, so by the time I got to high school Biology class I had a corner on the market of plant illustration, and firmly believe it was what allowed me to actually pass the class.

Making rubbings is still a good way to introduce the appreciation of nature and science, and it can be used as part of educational outreach programs for both children and adults. As a one-time event, in which the rubbing becomes the end product, is particularly good for dealing with younger children who have much shorter attention spans and a need for hands-on activities.

The New York State Museum has announced the artists selected for the Focus on Nature XIII exhibition. The GNSI has a strong showing of members! Twenty-five of the seventy-one artists chosen are GNSI members and are listed below. Congratulations!

Entries to FON XIII came from eighteen countries and the chance of having artwork selected for this biennial exhibition is about 17%. Because of the large number of entries, there is a two-step process to the jury selection. Initially the five jurors (three scientists and two artists/illustrators) review the works independently and score them, 1 (favorite) 2 (possibly) 3 (not for this exhibit). Based on these scores, each piece is then assigned another rating of 1-5. When the jury meets in person, they start looking at pieces that have the highest scores (1, then 1.2, 1.5 etc.). In the end, the jury reviews all pieces to make sure they feel it is a balanced exhibition in terms of the FON criteria (media, subject matter, educational value, etc.) The high quality of the work makes choices exceptionally difficult and many excellent pieces cannot be included.

Reminder: GNSI-Great Lakes Chapter 2015 Exhibit Entries Due Soon 

• Exhibit Title: Capturing the Essence: Connecting People and Nature Through Art
• Eligibility: Open to all current GNSI members living in the Great Lakes region.
• Exhibit Location: Lost Valley Visitor Center in Glacial Park, Route 31 & Harts Road, Ringwood McHenry County, Illinois
• Subjects: Plants, animals, habitats, & any natural subjects of Illinois or the Midwest
• Medium: Any 2D medium except photography
• Submission Deadline: May 8

Send submissions to [email protected]

Introduction

Like many of you, I am curious when a book asserts itself as an authoritative survey of a favorite subject. Charged by Gail Guth with reviewing Martyn Rix’s The Golden Age of Botanical Art, I chose four other titles for comparison and will present summaries of each in chronological order of publication. The Martin Rix book is number four.

The earliest of the series discussed here is The Art of Botanical Illustration by Wilfrid Blunt (with the assistance of William T. Stearn), my volume published by Collins, London, 2nd ed., 1967 (1st edit. 1950). Compared to the number of images in the other books, this one has a modest 46 color plates; 32 black and white plates; 61 illustrations; and 18 figures to amplify the text. Having the 3 appendices and a comprehensive index contributes significant value to this volume. The 2015 reprint of the 2001 edition of the book has a steep list price of almost $70 but includes many more illustrations than the original. Of the four volumes considered here this one is the one most clearly directed towards educating the aspiring or even professional botanical artist in technique as well as offering an appreciation of the field’s history. It is also the most historically comprehensive (even trumping Rix with a photo of a Paleolithic plant carving). William Stearn is the notable author of Botanical Latin, so you can be sure this book brings both the expertise of the trained botanist as well as that of the professional artist. It’s important to remember that Blunt was born in 1901 and writes much in the insightful, detailed style of that day. Of all of them, it’s probably the most helpful to the intermediate and advanced botanical artist and teacher because of its comprehensiveness.

COM.EN.ART (COMmunity.ENviroment.ART) is an Artist-in-Residence program for natural history illustrators offered by the Huyck Preserve, a biological field station and 2000-acre nature preserve in the picturesque hilltown village of Rensselaerville, NY near the Catskill Mountains. This two-week residency is designed to provide concentrated field experience and study for illustrators, as well as encourage interaction and discussion about nature among artists, with scientists and with the community. The artists contribute a finished piece of artwork and submit a sketch to the Preserve’s ongoing artists’ sketchbook in exchange for studio and rustic living quarters. This year we are running three sessions with two applicants to be chosen for each session.  Session I:  June 22-July 3, 2015; Session II:  August 3-14, 2015; Session III:  September 7-18, 2015.

Applications must be postmarked or emailed by April 15, 2015.