Artist & Painter Rebecca Latham’s Nature & Wildlife Art

I was "Tagged" by one of my friends, Cindy Hasse (a colored pencil artist whom I’ve mentioned in my blog earlier..). So, now I am "it". From what I have been told, I am now (voluntarily) posting 5 things that may not be known about me and "tagging" 5 other bloggers.

Growing On Me

I love gardens. I don’t have too much extra time to be away from my easel, but I dabble just enough to get my hands dirty. I love growing herbs (and using them in my cooking ), flowers (of course!), and exotic or unusual plants….and a number of them keep me company in my studio.

Decorate Your Face

I got started painting by face painting (where you paint the designs on children’s faces …er, most of the time it was children… ). I was bored sitting at art fairs with my Mom’s paintings and drawings when I was 10 or so, and my parent’s had the genius to suggest that I try something constructive. I guess that was my first ‘job’. …though, initially I felt bad charging too much for them and wouldn’t go over .25¢ each.

Sounding Nice

When deciding on a vocation, I was originally going to be a professional vocalist…not an artist (…though the thought had crossed my mind in first grade ). I took courses at a musical college as well as private instruction. I even placed in a competition at the Minnesota State Fair and was a soprano in the 3M chorus. (I did, however, change my mind – my Mom was already painting and she helped immensely in getting me addicted to the visual arts. ) Members of my immediate and extended family (I have a HUGE extended family) are very arts, music, and creative writing oriented (both sides of my family). My grandfather built his own dulcimer to play. A bit of that rubbed off on me, I play(ed) the flute and piccolo. I was a part of a student’s band at a college here in the cities and also did numerous solo performances. When I was VERY little (um, 3) I performed piano solos for the school’s concerts in front of hundreds of people.

This Is Your Life

I really enjoy biographies when I can. Victor Frankel, Leonardo Da Vinci, and others are very inspiring to me and my work. Also, I am really very, very grateful to all of the amazing people who have touched my life with their knowledge and experience themselves (and not simply from the pages of a book ) ….Artists whom I’ve studied under and those with years of knowledge who have selflessly been mentors to me. What they have given me is priceless.

Dig for the Facts

I love researching things that interest me – today it is the history of my style of art and the wildlife and nature I picture in my pieces. When I was little (probably 10 or so), I was fascinated with Native American history and tried to learn all I could (I have some Native American heritage myself, so that didn’t hurt, either. ). My Mom encouraged me and bought all of the books she could from book sales for me to study. …I even taught my childhood friends to use the symbols and sign language…. I had learned enough at that age to be able to hold my own when meeting an artist who painted authentic symbolism into his works and discuss it. (..but don’t ask me to remember something from that period now… lol! )

Ok, enough about me - here are 5 other artists that I will list...

The first two are built-in (victims ) - My Mom & Sister’s blogs are http://www.lathamstudios.com/karensblog/blog and http://www.lathamstudios.com/bonniesblog/blog

3. These art Beautiful oil paintings by an artist I met at one of our gallery’s events (Whistle Pik Galleries) not too long ago - qiang-huang.blogspot.com. …just love them.

4. & 5.This is an artist I’ve studied with, Matthew Hillier. He obviously doesn’t need a lot of introduction – his beautiful paintings speak for themselves - http://thestudiofloor.blogspot.com/ (and this is his wife, Julia Rogers - juliarogers.blogspot.com ….quite talented, aren’t they. )

(Disclaimer - none of the artists on this list are under any obligation or pressure to post anything if they would rather not ….I’m just showing you off… )

Best,

Rebecca

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
- Jim Carrey

This is the completed painting of the black leopard, titled "Intimidation - Black Leopard" (5" x 7"). My object for this painting was to capture the intense gaze and the action expressed in in the cat’s position - a feeling that he may lunge at any moment.

As mentioned earlier, I tried to keep the subtle qualities of the tones and such adding the contrast of the cat’s strength and focus and delicacy. The precious metals (24kt shell gold/sterling silver) were added to the eyes and sheen of the fur and other area that would add an extra glow. As in all of my work, I am working for realism and the honed look of refined miniature painting, so the touches of these illuminations (as always) are very soft so not to be gaudy or have a glaring tinsel look to them - only subtle and elegant enhancement.

You can see the beginning of the painting posted here from back in December and further progress here. The original was sold in February at a gallery exhibition.

A quick post about an event that will be showing some of my (and my family’s) paintings - an avian themed exhibition. The "It’s For The Birds" exhibition is being held at the Eugene H. and Dorothy Kleinpell Gallery in River Falls, Wisconsin. The opening reception is being held this Sunday (March 16th) from 2-4 pm. The University of Minnesota Raptor Center will be at the opening giving a presentation "All About Owls" at 2pm. The exhibit runs through April and has special events scheduled for the weekends during the show. ( Get directions )

First of all, I need to thank everyone that came to the NatureWorks show in Tulsa this past weekend - It was fabulous to meet all of you…and see familiar faces again! My family and I really appreciate your support for us and our work. We really love what we do and are so pleased to see that others enjoy our finished pieces and the wildlife that is so meaningful to us as well! Thanks for making the 2008 NatureWorks one of our best showings in Tulsa! We look forward to seeing everyone again next year! ( www.natureworks.org )

Also…. Some gallery news - For those who may not know, we are now represented full time in Texas by Whistle Pik Galleries ( www.whistlepik.com ). Their gallery is one of the most beautiful show places that I have seen and the people who run the gallery are superb.

Our gallery in Montana is expanding ( www.moosehorngallery.com ) - they will soon be opening another Moosehorn Gallery in Washington state. The Montana gallery will also be having a large event this summer that we will be attending in Big Sky with a new collection of artwork. …so we will be busy at our easels for a while.

Lastly (..but definitely not least…) An article about our family, "A 24/7 Family Affair", is featured in this month’s issue of Wildlife Art Magazine. Thanks to Wildlife Art and our author, Fran Howard! ( www.wildlifeartmag.com )