March-April 2009 Arizona Wildlife Views published by The Arizona Game & Fish Dept. featuring the Art Institute
Art Institute Instructors
If you would like to teach for the Art Institute, fill out a Course Proposal Form (PDF)
Ned Aldrich graduated from the Rhode Island School of design in 1987 and has enjoyed a very successful career in wildlife painting. He paints primarily in oil and travels the world to view, sketch, and photograph his subjects. The artist paints a broad spectrum of wildlife and its varied habitats, but prefers the cats, North American wildlife and birds.
Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen lives and works in Salt Lake City. He is a Master Signature Member of the Society of Animal Artists, and is a six-time recipient of its highest honor, the Award of Excellence, in 1994, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, and 2010. He has also been named a "Most Honored Artist of Utah."
Doug Dawson is a nationally recognized artist and the author of Capturing Light & Color with Pastel. He is the 2008 inductee to the Pastel Hall of Fame. Doug's work is represented frequently in publications and books such as American Artist Magazine, Pastel Journal Magazine, and Artist's Magazine. He is a Founding Board Member of the Art Students League of Denver, in Colorado.
Kim Duffek has a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and a B.F.A. in Studio Art from the University of Arizona and also studied in the U of A's scientific illustration program. She worked full-time in free-lance drafting, illustration and art for about a decade before joining ASDM's Botany Department in 1992.
Linda M. Feltner is an artist who specializes in both the aesthetics and science of natural history. Her career has developed through book and magazine illustrations, numerous solo exhibitions, classroom teaching, interpretive consulting and interpretive media design, commissions, and lectures to professional organizations.
Susan T. Fisher is the Director of the Art Institute at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and teaches art classes across the United States. Susan is the past-president of the American Society of Botanical Artists. Her B.A. degree includes three years of advanced study in art history at the University of Bordeaux in France.
Janie Gildow is a graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in art education. She became a full-time professional colored pencil artist in 1996. Janie's art has been published in Best of Colored Pencil, Exploring Color and Creative Colored Pencil as well as American Artist and Artist's Magazine.
Gary Greene has been a professional artist since 1967. He is the author of 11 North Light books and 3 DVD workshops. He has contributed articles to the Artist's Magazine and his colored pencil paintings have appeared in American Artist and International Artist magazines. Gary is a 15 year Signature Member of the Colored Pencil Society of American and has taught workshops nationally and internationally since 1985.
Rachel Ivanyi is a freelance natural science illustrator who specializes in reptiles and amphibians. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of California at Davis in 1995, and in 1996, Graduate Certification in Natural Science Illustration from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Her work can be found in a variety of textbooks, science magazines, children's books and field guides.
Martha Kemp specializes in the use of graphite pencil for her botanical artwork. She has exhibited in London at the Royal Horticultural Society's shows, where she has won five Gold Medals. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium, Garden Club of America and the Shirley Sherwood Collection in London. She is represented by Susan Frei Nathan Fine Works on Paper in New Jersey.
Richard Lutgen has a B.A. in Creative Arts from San Francisco State University. He attended Brooks Institute of Photography, and managed an internationally-recognized art photography gallery. An avid photographer, he enjoys working with the elements of visual design, photographing details and the abstract patterns of nature.
Susan Morris graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor's Degree in Painting & Drawing. She is a signature member of the Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild and has received numerous awards for her watercolors. Her work is shown in galleries and museums across the west.
Catherine Nash received a B.F.A. in printmaking and drawing from the University of New Hampshire and graduated from the University of Arizona with an M.F.A. in mixed media. She is an artist-in-residence for the Tucson/Pima Arts Council and the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Her work has been shown across the U.S., Japan and Europe.
Rhonda Nass graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an art education degree. She and her husband own and operate an illustration studio Wisconsin. Rhonda illustrated the university textbook, Biology of Plants (by Raven/Evert/Eichhorn). Her graphite, colored pencil and acrylic work is commissioned and appears internationally through exhibits and publications.
Peter Nisbet received a B.A. Degree from the University of North Carolina. He has traveled to such remote places as the South Pole and China, but his preferred locale for painting is in the deserts of the Southwest and Mexico. He is represented by the Meyer East Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, and the J.N. Bartfield Gallery in New York City.
Jay Pierstorff has designed and taught photography courses through Photo Retailers and The Learning Exchange. Currently he produces computer graphics, audio and video productions, website designs and digital photo restorations. Jay has spent over three decades involved in photographic and computer processes.
Margaret Pope has done commissioned work for Borderlands Tours, Plants for the Southwest, Mary Odette Books and the Arizona Native Plant Society. Her interest in nature inspired her to become a docent at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and to pursue botanical illustration.
Robert Renfrow graduated as Salutatorian of his class from the Kansas City Art Institute with a B.F.A. in Photography/Video in 1988. He received his MFA from the University of Arizona, in 1991. For 20 years he has conducted workshops both nationally and in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Connie Sayas has a B.F.A. degree. She studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and has a certificate in Botanical Art and Illustration from Denver Botanic Gardens. She is an experienced exhibit designer for science, history and art museums, and also worked as staff scientific illustrator for Encyclopedia Britannica. Her work has won awards in regional and international exhibitions.
Dr. John P. Schaefer is former President of the University of Arizona and a cofounder with Ansel Adams of the Center for Creative Photography. He is the author of three best-selling books on photographic techniques and has published several books of his own photography. His photographs have appeared in Arizona Highways.
Rick Wheeler has a B.A. degree in Fine Art. He is known for his scratchboard work which appears in Arts for the Parks, Paint the Parks, Guild of Natural Science Illustrators exhibits. He received a Juror's Award in the exhibit: A Century of Sanctuary: The Art of Zion National Park 2008. Rick has participated in the annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art for four consecutive years, 2009-2012. Memberships include Artists for Conservation, Society of Illustrators, and the International Society of Scratchboard Artists. Mr. Wheeler's work is in the permanent collection of Grand Canyon National Park.
Nicholas Wilson has been a wildlife artist for 45 years. His work is in permanent collections at The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Leigh Yawkey Woodsen Art Museum in WI, the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in OK, The Booth Western Art Museum in GA and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
