Keeping the Wild in Your Heart

I have had three wonderful opportunities recently to work with other artists on projects that required more than one kind of artistic talent.  The first was my Red-shouldered Hawk Territory book, a rewarding project involving a talented layout person and another artist who coordinated the printing.   (visit the link for more details)

The second was our Hummingbird Festival bookmark that was part of an advertising campaign for our 2012 Hummingbird Festival organized by our bird club at Ijams Nature Center as a fund raiser.   The beautiful book mark layout and printing was conceived and coordinated by another talented artist.  (visit the link for more details.)

In my most recent experience I was asked to create "muddy water" that was bubbling as though a turtle was diving into it.  And in a second painting, create a more detailed rendition of a Red-eared slider.  Above and below you can see these two paintings before they were converted into the beautiful exhibit panel they eventually became.  The muddy water was created on a 22 x 30 sheet of watercolor paper, and the turtle below it, on a half sheet, 22 x 14 inches.

Pam Petko-Seus, of Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, is the talented artist who conceived of this exhibit panel for the Center's Red-slider turtle exhibit, and Colin Hoffman, another exceptional artist at High Resolutions, was able to take Pam's ideas and make them into an exhibit panel aimed at teaching children and adults how to take care of our wild turtles--loving and admiring them without disturbing them.  

My job seemed the easiest to me!  

  

And here are some of the important facts that people should know when tempted to take a wild animal home with them:  

• Capturing wild animals often threatens species survival in natural habitats and disrupts delicate ecosystems.
• Wild animals spread disease.
• Captive breeding does not take the wild out of wildlife.
• Former pets rarely survive when returned to the wild.
• Many animals are sold illegally, especially on the internet.
• It is illegal in the state of Tennessee to possess native wildife without a proper permit. [This may be true in other states, as well.]

Upcoming:
One of My favorite Books:  Drawing and Painting Birds
I'm Getting Ready for Alaska!