One Truth, Many Lies: A New View of Art & Natural History Collections, a new Artist Residency Program at the California Academy of Sciences is seeking applications from West Coast visual artists for 2-3 day residencies in the spring/summer of 2014.

Deadline to apply: December 13, 2013

Creature artist Terryl Whitlatch, well known for her work on Star Wars movies, presented a keynote and workshop at last year's GNSI meeting. She has her own production company now and she is holding a creature drawing contest that some of you might be interested in.

Wings & Water: A Juried Exhibition of 2D and 3D Art is a national exhibition exploring artists' perceptions and imagery that comes to mind with the words wings and water, be the imagery botanicals, birds, insects, fish, animals, water/shore environment…open for interpretation. The exhibition is offered though River Arts Inc., a non-profit organization based in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin dedicated to enriching, inspiring, and educating through the arts. All artists, styles, techniques, and media are welcomed. Please see the details through Café (Callforentry.org). January 1 deadline for March 7-May 6, 2014 show.

Full details and link to entry forms

If you attended the past two conferences and stopped by the Technique Showcase, you were treated to a display of field kits presented by a number of our members. It was obvious that the choice of equipment and supplies is as varied as the artists who use them, and depends on their preferred way of working, locale, subjects, etc. And of course, different circumstances may require different kit compositions. All agree, though, that the best way to choose and use your own field kit is to just get out there and try various items out. Keep sketching! We will feature more field kits in future issues.

Laurel Mundy’s Field Kit

I almost always use the same small set of tools, regardless of whether I am working in the field or sketching at home. My most important of those is my blue lead mechanical pencil (along with extra lead), which I use for making all of my preliminary drawings. It is easily erased and hides well under ink and watercolor, which are the two media I most commonly work in while field sketching. I like to bring two erasers; a gum eraser to lighten outlines I don’t I want showing, and a fine eraser with a plastic holder. I usually sketch over my preliminary with a more final version in a regular graphite pencil before moving to the color or ink stage. I also bring along a black and a white color pencil, both very soft, for adding shadows or highlights (along with a quality pencil sharpener, of course). For finalizing dark outlines I usually use a 01 size Pigma Micron, occasionally using the even smaller 005. I like having a Koh-I-Noor rapidograph pen as well if I plan on using a lot of ink in the drawing, as it flows better and is a darker black.

August 2 and 3rd, 2013 the GNSI Oregon Group hosted a computer workshop geared toward Scientific Illustrators as part of our ongoing Ocean Art Challenge. Our members had indicated improving basic computer skills was high on their wish list.

Amadeo Bachar, the digital media instructor for the Scientific Illustration Program at California State University in Monterey, provided an excellent workshop plan for us, and was an excellent and very qualified teacher, and very patient.

For those who promote their work to potential clients, one of the traditional methods is through sourcebooks. For the science illustration community, this often means September is a big month when the fruits of your labor are put on display in the latest editions of the Science-Art and Medical Illustration Source directories. The Science-Art.com sourcebook is full of GNSI member's work and the art of Nicolle Rager Fuller graces the cover.

Both these publications will be released to a total of 9500 potential art buyers this September. The cool thing about the internet is that the books are already available digitally for your enjoyment, and is an educational opportunity in how others design promotional material for themselves.

The Big Apples of New York takes the reader on a wonderful journey that includes apples. It teases the senses. It is filled with rich history related to the apple, from the beginning with Adam and Eve to the people who brought the seeds to America. The book contains myths, medical uses, history, and a wonderful mystery.

The Big Apples of New York is a great addition to the library of a hobbyist, gardener, history buff, botanical artist or any person who loves apples. Even the domestic chef would be surprised by the recipes at the end of the book. The book is filled with beautiful botanical apple plates that visually distinguish the varieties through color and textural look. Descriptions of history and how the portrayed apple might be used are written on the back of the plates. At the back of the book, you will find a list of apple orchards in the state of New York. I found the book easy to read- and thoroughly enjoyable. Just make sure you have apples on hand for a snack.

2013 GNSI CONFERENCE

The Denver Botanic Gardens and the GNSI are pleased to announce a premier juried exhibition opportunity for GNSI members only, highlighting the subject matter of plants, birds, and pollinators. Subjects may include plants only or animals only (birds, mammals, insects, reptiles & amphibians, etc), but judging weight will be given to images that emphasize plants and their relationships with their pollinators.

Original art only (includes prints of digital works) in 2- or 3-dimensions. Jurying emphasis will be on both artistic excellence and scientific accuracy.

Abstract

Sydney Prentice (1873-1943) was a paleontological illustrator and a master of the pen and ink thick/thin (eyelash) technique. A collection of his rough sketches, finished art, drawing equipment, zinc engraved printing blocks, and published drawings in the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution document a historic scientific illustration process and serve as an instructional model for artists working today. The drawings were prepared for Smithsonian cetologist Remington Kellogg (1892-1969). A gallery of images may be seen at paleobiology.si.edu/paleoArt/prentice/prentice.html

The Department of Paleobiology in Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) houses several beautiful collections of historical scientific illustrations representing a wide variety of paleontological subject matter. One of these, the Kellogg Illustration Collection, focuses primarily on fossil whale skeletal anatomy and comprises more than 250 pen and ink line drawings and rough sketches of over sixty species of whales (Fig. 1). Sydney Prentice, a master of the pen and ink line technique, prepared most of the drawings. They appear mainly in publications by the Smithsonian cetologist, Remington Kellogg.

All members in good standing are eligible to vote on the next President of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. The newly-elected President of the GNSI will serve as President-Elect for one year, President for two years, and Immediate Past President for one year. The nominee for this position is Amelia Janes.

To vote please go to http://www.gnsi.org/forum/business/gnsi-presidents-election-link
(You must be a logged in GNSI member in good standing to see this page. For login instructions go to this FAQ: http://www.gnsi.org/forum/faqs/check-membership-expiration-date)

Entries are open to the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, a unique opportunity for talented artists to immerse themselves in the wonders of science.

The Science Illustration Graduate Certificate Program at California State University, Monterey Bay is proud to announce the 24th Annual Illustrating Nature Exhibit. This renowned show will be held for its 4th year at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. The opening reception is May 3rd from 5-7 p.m. and the show will run through June 16.

This year's 2013 Science Illustration students hail from six countries and have diverse backgrounds in both the sciences and the arts. They have come together with one commonality: a love for the art of nature. Within this broad genre, you will find a variety of subjects. If you love science, nature, and art there is sure to be something you will find captivating, and the caliber of artistry is truly astounding.

Only 15 students are selected for this prestigious graduate certificate program every year ensuring an outstanding level of artistic talent and scientific know how. The major focal point is natural history and students are encouraged to explore any and all scientific subjects of their choosing for which they have an interest. From the four instructors Ann Caudle, Jenny Keller, Amadeo Bachar, and Logan Parsons, the students are taught traditional science illustration techniques, digital media, layout and design, and how to prepare oneself for the professional world at large. Many excellent and intriguing guest speakers throughout the school year provide encouragement and examples on a variety of career paths a science illustrator may choose, including: publishing in textbooks, children's books, science journals, and popular magazines; forensic reconstruction; extinct or prehistoric species reconstruction; fine art exhibiting, illustrating for scientific research; creature design for the entertainment industry; and on the business side: the laws of how to be an artist, and how to protect and conduct oneself legally and professionally.

The US Forest Service just released a beautifully-illustrated, non-fiction children’s picture book that discusses why trees are sometimes cut down.

Former GNSI member Graham Johnson writes: