WOW- She is one Awesome Artist!

More and more these days climate change and destruction of habitat is of great concern. As artists we have the ability to make an impact with our art as a means of communication, education, and beauty. I met Vicky Earle about 6 years ago when she came on her first Art & Photography Tour to Costa Rica. She had traveled to Costa Rica many times before, but decided to join me on 2 journeys. I wanted to take the time to show you the awesome art she has created and how she has used her travels to create art in conservation efforts.

Vicky has been a medical and natural science illustrator since 1985 and has done work for medical textbooks, journals and brochures, as well as artwork for legal litigation, video, animation and websites. Vicky cares about the planet and all its species. She devotes her time to creating art which teaches people about conservation and the importance of habitat protection. On her travels she collects research through photographs, taking field notes, doing sketches and then uses them to do some amazing art. 

In 2018 she was selected with the honor of becoming a Signature member of : The Artists for Conservation (AFC).  This is a group of artists who create works which support preserving the environment. One of the projects Vicky recently participated in was the Silent Skies Mural Project. https://festival.artistsforconservation.org/project/silent-skies It featured 678 endangered species of birds. Vicky created 6 beautiful paintings for this exhibit.

Here is a page from Vicky’s book, “Duets: the Dance of Symbiotic Relationships”. It is a hardbound book. I highly recommend this beautiful art book for EVERYONE interested in conservation.

Another project Vicky created was “Duets: The Dance of Symbiotic Relationships”. This project was a solo effort and was partially funded in 2016 by the American Society of Botanical Artists Ophelia Dowden Art and Education Grant. As Vicky spent time in the tropics she began discovering unique relationships that many tropical plants have with insects, animals, and humans while doing research for teaching and painting. Her beautiful painting of the the Blue Jean Poison Dart Frog and the Bromeliad shows the delicate care the adult frog has in caring for its tadpole. She discovered that bromeliads are epiphytes that live high in the rainforest canopies. The structure of the plant is conducive to collecting rainwater and nutrients. The male makes his way to the tree top canopy and deposits the tadpoles each into the water of different bromeliads. He then calls in the female to lay a single egg to feed the tadpole until it reaches maturity. Vicky created a whole series of these paints which were made into educational panels and exhibited at the Bloedel Conservatory and VanDusen Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Vicky’s just released her book “Duets: The Dance of Symbiotic Relationships”. It is a compilation of the paintings and educational text that were in her exhibit. She traveled this summer to Australia to give a presentation on her research and projects at the Guild of Natural Science Illustrator’s conference.

It is so inspiring to see all the glorious work she has done over the past years. I am over the moon to see her new book and the success she has achieved. If you are interested in seeing more of Vicky’s work you can visit her website and also follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

If you care about the environment and want to learn more about how you can collect data and research for your art…….

Join us in Journey to the Heart of Creativity in the Costa Rican Rainforest.

Take your art to the next level and educate people about conservation!

Here is what Vicky had to say about her experience:

Having traveled to Costa Rica many times in the past, both on my own and with friends, I’ve fallen in love with the country. There is always something new and awe-inspiring to see every time you visit. As a professional artist, there is no shortage of jaw-dropping beauty. I had seen advertisements for Mindy’s Art and Photography tours online for years, so I finally decided to join her. I highly recommend this trip! Mindy, in her years of leading tours, has found the best places to draw and take reference photographs. She makes sure there are ample opportunities to get “behind the scenes” and “insider” tours at various locations – things that are not usually possible when you book travel on your own. This trip is open to everyone, at all levels of art and photography experience. Mindy’s warm and informative teaching style is inclusive and makes everyone feel welcome! She and Holbrook Travel take care of all the details for travel, lodging, and photo/sketching opportunities, so everyone can just enjoy the experience, be creative and get great inspiration for art! I can’t wait to go again!

Vicky Earle, BSc AAM, MEdTech
Natural science, medical and botanical illustrator