59th Annual Exhibition of the Society of Animal Artists Opening Weekend

 

Including participating SAA artists and guests, 375 people attended the opening for the Society of Animal Artists 59th Annual Exhibition at the beautiful Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio recently! The picturesque museum sits nestled among grand cypress trees lining the historic Riverwalk, where the numerous trees and lush gardens all about give one a feeling of being in an oasis, making it a real treat to visit indeed!

 

 

While several artists, including myself, spent Thursday at the San Antonio Aquarium getting up close and personal with lemurs and other delightful critters, most SAA members and their guests arrived at the Marriott Hotel later that afternoon in time to attend the opening that evening. The reception was well attended and the museum was packed with excited attendees and patrons!  

 

 

Opening remarks were made by Michael Duchemin, Ph.D., the Briscoe’s Director, and SAA President Reneé Bemis. This year’s SAA student scholarship recipients were announced and we all enjoyed delicious hors d’oeuvres and drinks.  Then came the awaited time to view the exhibition which was arranged beautifully and an absolute inspiration to see in person!

 

 

The next morning a caravan consisting of dozens of wildlife artists, headed to Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch anticipating another great day! We made many animals very happy as our entourage tossed out piles of food while slowly driving along the scenic loop road. Thankfully it had cooled off some that morning and there was a delightful breeze as we went along feeding wildlife and taking numerous photos. I'm quite sure the animals thought for sure the paparazzi had invaded!

 

 

The group enjoyed a delicious and fun lunch at the restaurant located on the ranch with many of us taking another drive-through afterward.  It’s a wonderful park where you can certainly get up close and personal with their numerous resident animals while allowing great opportunities for taking perfect reference photos... a delight to wildlife artists indeed!

 

 

Most of us spent our free time visiting historic landmarks, swimming in the hotel pool, and strolling along the picturesque riverwalk nearby, and Friday evening at the hotel, we had a great time hanging out and relaxing during the pizza party and game night for the attending artists. The game "Who am I?" gave attendees a chance to guess the mystery artists, after Executive Director Wes Siegrist read aloud different artist's answers to a few unique questions, giving us a chance to get to know one another better.

 

 

The next day was abuzz with numerous activities, starting with the SAA members meeting, and after lunch, we were treated to a most insightful and entertaining interview with SAA Master Signature Member Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen.

 

SAA Board and Distinguished Signature Member, Terry Miller, interviews Carel.

 

The afternoon was filled with SAA artist demonstrations, live bird presentations and a community mural project in which SAA artists helped the kids paint. The public poured in and the Briscoe Museum had a tremendous turnout for the various activities and viewing of the SAA exhibition, and a flurry of activities kept everyone quite busy all day!

 

SAA Executive Director and Distinguished Signature Member, Wes Siegrist alongside SAA Signature Member Robin Huffman having fun painting with the kids!

 

SAA Signature Members, Cynthie Fisher, Kelly Radding and Tiffany Miller Russell demonstrated their techniques and many tried their hand at scratchboard!

 

That evening the air was filled with abundant conversation and laughter during the Annual Awards Banquet, and it was decided that Wes had chosen wisely with the caterer, as the food was truly delicious!

 

 

Following dinner, SAA Distinguished Signature Member John Seerey-Lester was awarded the coveted Lifetime Achievement award by the Society.  This amazingly talented artist, who has achieved so much throughout his career as an artist, even being Knighted at one point, brought tears to the eyes of many, as he graciously spoke of his love for the SAA in accepting his award. Afterward, this year's award winners were announced and can be viewed on the SAA website by clicking here.

 

John brought abundant laughter too in his acceptance speech (shown with his wife Suzie)

 

While attending board members including myself, spent the day in the SAA Board meeting, a group of artists got a chance to visit Bracken Cave located near San Antonio. With more than 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats, it's home to the world's largest bat colony, and I'm sure made for an awesome experience for those able to go!

 

 

The SAA would like to extend a HUGE thank you to the amazing Briscoe Western Art Museum for hosting the SAA’s 59th Annual Exhibition, and to the friendly staff that made it such a wonderful weekend for so many of us!

 

 

I'm currently working on producing a video featuring the exhibition at the Briscoe Museum and numerous highlights from all activities that took place during the memorable weekend and will share it on next month's blog.

 

Until Next Time ~ Rachelle Siegrist for the SAA

Planning for the SAA's 59th Annual Opening Weekend

Yes . . . it may look like just an ordinary stacks of boxes and crates now, but alas very soon the staff at the Briscoe Museum in San Antonio, Texas, will work their magic transforming this collection of crates and boxes into an extraordinary exhibition to experience and behold, that being the upcoming 59th Annual Exhibition of the Society of Animal Artists.

Photos courtesy of the Briscoe Musem

The exciting, opening weekend festivities will begin this month with the Artists’ Reception at the Briscoe Museum (By RSVP only via the Museum) Thursday the 19th from 6 to 8pm. Friday the 20th, our attending members and guests will be going to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch for the day.  Then, that evening, attending artists will enjoy a pizza party at Springhill Marriott, after which we'll be playing a game . . . "Who Am I?" It should be great fun getting to know each other better!

On Saturday the 21st,  Society of Animal Artists (SAA) members and guests will gather for our annual meeting followed by activities that will take place at the Briscoe Museum’s Jack Guenther Pavilion.  Afternoon activites are open to the public and are scheduled as follows . . . 

• Noon – SAA Master Artist Presentation with Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen discussing his career and inspiration as an artist.

• Noon – 4:00PM – Ongoing Community Mural Project (SAA artists will be working with the public having fun and teaching kids and adults how to paint and mix colors)

The ongoing Community Mural Project will be a 5' x 10' project that the public, assisted by SAA artists, will start on Saturday, and will be worked on again at future Briscoe Museum community events.  Our executive director, Wes Siegrist, did the idea sketches for the mural. 

• 1:00 – 4:00PM* – Demonstrations by Cynthie Fischer (Scratchboard), Kelly Leahy Radding (Painting watercolor on vellum), Tiffany Miller Russell (3D Cut Paper) and John Seerey-Lester (Pending) *Times may vary

• 1:00 – 4:00PM* – Panel Discussion “How to Achieve Inspiring Reference” with Anni Crouter, Kim Diment, and Cathy Sheeter on how they collect reference, camera/equipment, field sketching/notation, zoos/animal refuges or game parks. How to edit photos, combine different photo reference to achieve believable compositions.
 *Specific time yet to be determined

Saturday evening, SAA members and guests will gather for our awards banquet at the Plaza Marriott.  We will also be doing a “Little Gem” exchange between members again this year.  This is where participants exchange small orginal works of art between themselves which is always a treat!

A BIG congratulations goes out to Tamara Pokorny on having your piece selected for the cover of the exhibtion catalog this year!

Until next time . . .

Rachelle Siegrist for the SAA

John Seerey-Lester - Member Profile

Society Of Animal Artists Member Profile

John Seerey-Lester

Signature Member

Oil and Acrylic Painter, USA

World-renowned artist John Seerey-Lester was born in Manchester, England, where he grew up with a sketchbook in hand. Receiving his first commission at the early age of 13, John became a professional artist in 1974. For some ten years prior to this, John was a journalist, freelance writer, editor of several magazines and worked in advertising and public relations in both the private sector and local government in the UK. Before painting wildlife, John painted figurative works and portraiture, which he still undertakes. On his travels to different parts of the world, he continues to do figurative work between his wildlife paintings.

John has received many awards and much recognition for his outstanding achievements in the field of wildlife art. He was presented to His Royal Highness Prince Phillip and was commended for his work in conservation. He has been chosen to exhibit works in the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum's "Birds in Art" and "Wildlife: An Artist's View" shows each year since 1983, and his paintings are in their permanent collection. He has also displayed in several other museums such as the Gilcrease Museum , the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and in many other permanent collections such as Bennington Center for the Arts and Nature in Art Museum. He is a member of Oil Painters of America and is the Artist of the Year at the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in Charleston for 2004.

Recently John has become well recognized for his paintings depicting historical hunting scenes. A book entitled LEGENDS OF THE HUNT feature this series of paintings.

Books by our artists!

Here are some books that we would like to make you aware of by some of our artists!


 

An Illustrated Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka
By

Sarath Kotagama & Gamini Ratnavira

"Public interest in the birds of Sri Lanka appears to be growing exponentially…" (Read more)

 

Beast

The collected works of
John Banovich

This elegantly designed, milestone book is a must-own for anyone who is a collector of Banovich`s originals, published works, enjoys animals and conservation, has faced big game in the wild, or desires a chance to look over a master`s shoulder. (Read more)

 

Legends of the Hunt

John Seerey-Lester

"Legends of the Hunt, is for anyone who remembers the distant roar of a lion on an African night, the welcome smell of a north country campfire, or the taste of dust as you trek through the scrub in the equatorial heat." (Read more)

(rc)