Sea of Cortez Exhibition

SEA OF CORTEZ EXHIBITION

March 16 - June 2, 2013

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute

Tucson, Arizona   

 

Thirty American artists, including members of the Society of Animal Artists,  from throughout the U.S. who participated in a field trip to San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico, in 2011 to produce a body of work for a museum exhibition entitled The Sea of Cortez, will have their work displayed at The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute from March 16 through June 2, 2013.   Participating artists include: Linda Bittner, Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen, DeVere Burt, Andrew Denman, Kim Diment, Kim Duffek, Cathy Ferrell, Susan Fisher (who also serves as Director of The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute), Susan Fox, Mary Garrish, Ann Geise, Shawn Gould, Mary Helsaple, Heiner Hertling, John Kobald, Molly Moore, Deian Moore, John Pitcher, Don Rambadt, Paul Rhymer, Rebecca Richman, Carolyn Thome, Christine Sarazin, Rachelle Siegrist, Wes Siegrist, Martha Thompson, Sue Westin, Ronnie Williford, Nicholas Wilson, and John Agnew, who had to withdraw from the field trip for medical attention, but will still exhibit in the exhibit.

The Sea of Cortez field trip was organized by David J. Wagner, L.L.C.  Leading the field trip was Richard C. Brusca, Ph.D., who serves as a member of the Science Faculty at the University of Arizona.  Recently retired from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum where he directed the ASDM Press and served as ASDM Senior Director of Conservation & Science, Dr. Brusca is widely recognized as a leading authority on Sea of Cortez studies. Field Trip ground transportation was made possible by The Susan Kathleen Black Foundation while boat transportation was provided by Glenn and Martha Thompson. 

The Sea of Cortez exhibition will include plein air paintings, botanical illustrations, field sketches, wildlife paintings and sculptures, photographs, and other media including casts of Sonoran wildlife tracks. Serving as Curator for the exhibition is David J. Wagner, Ph.D.

The sea is central to its mission of The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute, as explained on its Sonoran Desert Studies webpage: "the Sea of Cortez divides the land portion of the Sonoran Desert into two halves, the Baja California Peninsula on the west, and the states of Arizona and Sonora [Mexico] to the east . . . The coast of The Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California) is characterized by 300 estuaries and other wetlands . . . a unique ecosystem that is home to a rich community of plant and animal life. They are key components of the Gulf's marine food web, generating primary production and releasing nutrients to the sea, and serving as breeding and nursery grounds for numerous fish, invertebrate, and bird species, and even some marine mammals and reptiles." 

The Sea of Cortez exhibition will focus on the flora and fauna that inhabit the environments around San Carlos, Mexico, including the sea's incredible marine life, the region's desert topography, the Estero el Soldado mangroves (one of the most pristine lagoons left in the Gulf), Nacapule Canyon, and scenic overlooks such as Mirador with sweeping vistas, sheer cliffs and the sea below.

The Sea of Cortez is available for display in 2013 and 2014 at museums nationwide.  For further information email davidjwagnerllc@yahoo.com or visit davidjwagnerllc.com.

Member Profile - Rosetta

Society Of Animal Artists Member Profile
Rosetta
Signature Member
Sculptor, USA

Though drawn to modeling in clay at a very young age, Rosetta's formal art training was in commercial art, culminating at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. It wasn’t until computers put an end to my successful 17-year free-lance career, designing and hand-lettering for logos and packaging in the San Francisco Bay area, that I realized that I could actually make sculpture a career. Now I create sculptures of animals. They depict the life force of the animal, in all of its visual splendor, rather than a realistic depiction of outward appearances. Although I keep the animal’s basic form true to reality, it is my interpretation of that form, motion and inner spirit that is my art. Though I work directly in clay without preliminary drawings, I use line, released from two dimensions into three, to express the beauty, grace and power I see in the animal form. I call this “Interpretive Realism”.

My style has been described as hard-edged yet soft, sensitive yet powerful. It is a combination of my great appreciation for the wondrous qualities of beauty, power and profound innocence that I sense in the animals, and the blending of realism and abstraction in my visual interpretations, that imbues my sculpture with these qualities.

In my heart, I cannot understand the insensitivity of so many to the treasures we have in the animals. To do them justice, I must make each sculpture a treasure, a jewel, an inspiration to others to cherish these creatures as I do.

http://www.rosettasculpture.com/

Member Profile - Peta Boyce

Society Of Animal Artists Member Profile
Peta Boyce
Associate Member
Painter, Australia

A childhood spent in Papua New Guinea and a lifelong love of wildlife were the twin catalysts for Peta's commitment to her art. Peta's love of caring for some of the smaller species of birds is also reflected in her art. A self-taught artist, working mainly in gouache, her paintings of wrens, finches, robins and the smaller honeyeaters are extremely popular and her work is in private collections both in Australia and overseas.Passionate about Australian Native flora and fauna, Peta will take any opportunity to educate and inform others of the beauty in Australia and has spent many hours at the local school talking with the children. A keen gardener, she has planted most of the acreage that she lives on with Australian native plants. Many of the plants are endemic to the area in an attempt to "bring back the wildlife".

http://www.natureartists.com/peta_boyce.asp

Member Profile-Mick Doellinger

Society Of Animal Artists Member Profile
Mick Doellinger
Signature Member
Sculptor, USA

Mick Doellinger has lived in the United States since 2003, but grew up in Australia where he gained many of the skills he uses today in his sculpting. He started sculpting taxidermy manikins in the late 1970’s and gained International industry recognition for physical accuracy and unique artistry.

Doellinger melds this working knowledge of anatomy and sculpting with a deep understanding of animal behavior and psychology that he gleaned from years of guiding and wildlife management in the Australian outback.

Mick’s work reflects his fascination with nature and art by blending the two in a tradition that has inspired countless artists thru the centuries. For the past 30 years Mick has honed his sculpting skills and developed a style that has not only become his “voice”, but is a reflection of his artistic process.

http://doellingersculptures.com/

Member Profile-Gunnar Tryggmo

Society Of Animal Artists Member Profile
Gunnar Tryggmo
Associate Member
Painter, Sweden

 

 

Born in 1969 and raised in Sjöabro, a scenic spot deep in the middle of the forest in Småland, which is a province in southern Sweden. The forest’s diversity of animals and birds caught my interest early on and became a natural source of inspiration. I shared this artistic interest with my uncle, who encouraged me from a young age, and it was he who took me to my first show.

After high school I moved to Helsingborg,  a city in southern Sweden which faces Denmark, in order to study painting and drawing at Sundsgårdens college. Today I live with my family in Viken, a small village outside Helsingborg, where I practice my art. I continue to be inspired by nature and in particular by animals and birds in their natural environment, such as the Swedish landscape which ranges from the coastline to the heavily-forested interior. In 2007 I went on a safari trip to Tanzania and experienced at first hand Africa’s wildlife. This was a majestic experience that has ever since been a major inspiration in my art.

http://www.gunnartryggmo.se/