Painter Peggy Macnamara is no ordinary watercolorist. As the Chicago Field Museum‘s artist-in-residence, Macnamara’s muses include ancient vases, animal specimens, and other priceless artifacts that surround her on a daily basis. This fascinating career has led to an even more unique opportunity, as Macnamara’s art now aids in the crucial conservation efforts of the museum’s Keller Science Action Center.
With their kaleidoscopic hues and loosely rendered lines, Macnamara’s whimsical watercolor paintings may not look like traditional naturalist studies; however, they have achieved exactly what the museum had hoped for. In addition to bringing attention to unique species of wildlife, they have helped the Action Center to make a case for Yaguas National Park, a preserve in the Peruvian Amazon supported by the institution.
For years, the Action Center has led efforts to protect the region, which has been described as “one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.” By capturing the beautiful flora and fauna found in this ecosystem, Macnamara has helped move this project forward with flying colors.
We recently had the chance to talk to Peggy Macnamara about her remarkable life and career. Read our exclusive interview below to learn more.
I majored in Art History in college because I didn’t believe I had the “talent” to be an artist myself. I went to University of Chicago for a Master’s under this false premise. It wasn’t until I began drawing on a regular basis in my mid-twenties that I began to see the true nature of talent. Now I reassure all my students that there is no lack of talent in each of us, just a lack of persistent work ethic. You have to unearth the talent, dig it out with consistent work. I did figure drawing a couple days a week and set up a studio in my attic to draw still life.
Before your residency at the Field Museum and after your graduate studies, you dedicated years to sketching objects in museums. What initially attracted you to the museum setting?
The Field Museum was about a 45-minute drive from my house. Parking was free at that time so I began going everyday. Teachers were admitted free and at that time I was teaching at a small college in Lake Forest. I planned to use the museum as a studio for the years my kids were small (I had five kids before age 30). The sitter would come and off I would go for four to five hours.
Once I drifted into the Bird exhibits on the first floor of the museum, sometime in my early thirties, I was hooked.
I wasn’t necessarily passionate about wildlife as a subject matter but what observing nature could teach me as an artist. I was drawing perfectly-made things. Each skeleton was a jewel of design. Every bird or bug was a surprise composition. This experience honed my sensibilities, helped me develop instincts for balance, beauty, as well as surprise.
In 1990, I was approached by Debby Moskovits, a scientist reviving the bird exhibits. She had watched me working over the years and asked if they could exhibit my paintings in the new bird exhibit. I was delighted and from that time on became known as the artist-in-residence. Later, they gave me a studio in the Bird Division, a floor above the public areas.
In the beginning, I was working in colored pencil, a very slow medium. I worked in the Chinese exhibit on the second floor of the Field Museum for about 10 years. All the work was colored pencil and the exhibits were quiet and easy to work in. This taught me much patience and how to layer colors. When I eventually moved into watercolor I had learned a great deal from slow observation and application.
See more of Peggy Macnamara’s wildlife watercolor studies below.
My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Peggy Macnamara.
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Source: mymodernmet.com