This piece originally appeared in the TTFNC's Quarterly Bulletin (QB1-2015). Back in 2012, the UWI Zoology Museum was the venue for the TTFNC Art Group’s first ever outing. At the time, it was agreed by all that the museum contained sufficient inspiration in its hundreds of fascinating specimens to sustain many, many more trips. On Sunday 20th November, eleven members finally returned for another morning of drawing and painting. Once again Mike Rutherford was extremely accommodating in allowing us access to the museum and helping us each select our desired specimens. This time the process was complicated somewhat by a power cut, which left the entire University in the dark for the day, and meant that Mike had to guide us around his Aladdin’s cave of treasures by torchlight. It also forced us to set up on the desks in the open-air undercroft outside the museum, which turned out to be very pleasant and in the end was probably an improvement to being inside the crowded display room, with its artificial lighting. Perhaps the darkness caused by the power cut had put ghoulish thoughts in our minds, as our chosen specimens were decidedly spooky! They included a taxidermied vampire bat, a pickled frog, a giant longhorn beetle and a snake skeleton. Skulls also proved a popular choice; lion, howler monkey, deer and turtle skulls were all selected for sketching by different artists, with some very pleasing, if eerie, results. The shape and form of skulls provides excellent drawing practice, as one can attempt to capture the three-dimensional, sculptural nature of the object, using shading to indicate depth and adjusting and readjusting lines on the paper until one is happy that the proportions are just right. This approach was exemplified by Ayodhya Ouditt who produced several pages of very successful skull sketches, from multiple angles, and using a combination of pencil and pen and ink to experiment with different techniques. Less macabre subjects included a case of Trinidadian butterflies, which first-time members Annelise Randall and Sharon Vanderhyden portrayed using pastels and coloured pencil, respectively. Time disappeared quickly, with everyone completely absorbed in their drawings from start to finish. Once again, the museum proved an extremely popular venue. Even after two trips I still feel that we have only capitalised on a tiny part of the great potential that the museum holds for our enthusiastic members; we will definitely be returning in the near future! A report I wrote for the TTFNC Quarterly Bulletin on the Art Group's first trip: As the hybrid offspring of an artist and a biologist, combining painting and the natural world has always seemed quite an obvious thing to do. The attendance register from the inaugural outing of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists Club Art Group proves that I am not alone: twenty people turned up at 9am on Saturday 14th April to enjoy a morning of drawing, painting and photography at UWI’s Zoology Museum. Taking full advantage of TTFNC’s excellent connections, the group was treated to a personal tour by the museum curator, Mike Rutherford, who showed us around both the main Zoology Museum and the beautiful insect collection next door. Initially entranced by the stacks of jars, cabinets, bones and stuffed creatures, eventually we had to remind ourselves that we were not only in the museum to gaze at and learn about the fascinating specimens (although I’m sure any one of us could have easily done so all morning). This left us with no choice but to face up to the first challenge of the day: selecting a subject! The variety was somewhat overwhelming, but one by one we settled on a creature, found a comfortable seat and opened our paint boxes, pencil tins and camera cases... Subjects chosen included alien-like marine creatures such as the horseshoe crab and nautilus, skulls of horses and marine fish, scary giant centipedes, spectacular harlequin beetles and pickled snakes and starfish. This was where many of us faced the second challenge of the day – getting started. Happily, the trip coincided with my father, Paul Deacon, an artist and retired art teacher, visiting Trinidad from the UK. He spent the morning floating between the two rooms offering encouraging advice to nervous or hesitant artists, providing starting points and explaining techniques wherever such help was requested. Apart from a brief break to view a stunning example of a ‘sun dog’ or rainbow-like halo around the sun, we kept going until lunchtime. As well as a wide range of subjects, the group also embraced a great variety of media – pencil, watercolour, oil pastel, digital photography, to name but a few. Some even found the time to document the event by photographing fellow artists and their work, as well as taking artistically-minded photos of the specimens themselves. For many, this day in the museum was the first time they had opened a sketch book in years, despite enjoying drawing and painting in the past. Everyone was extremely positive about the experience afterwards and grateful for the opportunity to rediscover a passion for art. It seems that art is one of those interests that sound so easy to keep up as a hobby in theory, but in reality often get neglected in the rush of everyday life. It is my hope that this new group will provide an outlet – a time and a place – for all of us, to make sure we do not forget how relaxing and satisfying it can be to spend a few hours observing and interpreting nature through art. Our second trip in September took us to the Emperor Valley Zoo, where artists enjoyed the challenges of capturing swinging spider monkeys, flamingos drinking and tapirs feeding! The idea is that future trips will take us to locations equally rich in natural history subjects – for example the Pointe a Pierre Wildfowl Trust. The TTFNC is a great club to get involved with for those living in or visiting Trinidad & Tobago, who are interested in going on some excellent natural history-oriented hikes and attending interesting monthly lectures. See www.ttfnc.org for more details. |
ArtI am a keen artist in my spare time. I currently run a natural history art group within the TTFNC. Archives
October 2023
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