Focus on Nature

Yesterday in Albany we attended the opening of an exhibit of natural history artwork at the New York State Museum called “Focus On Nature X.” The exhibition is held every two years, and this is the 10th time the show has been assembled.


My own painting showing T.rex at a watering hole was accompanied by 93 other works by artists from 13 other countries and 21 states in the USA, many of whom are members of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. The paintings of birds, bugs, mammals, and plants are mostly in gouache and watercolor, plus a few in pen and ink and scratchboard and oil.

Patricia Kernan, who helped organize the exhibit, hosted tours through the New York State natural history art collection, which includes bird illustrations in watercolor by Luis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927). Susan Bull Riley, an artist from Marlboro, Vermont, said: “It’s really neat to see these originals after loving these reproductions all my life.”

The exhibition will continue through September 7, 2008.