Marie May
Fitchburg, WI

During COVID, I could not go in to the Zoology Museum to draw, and one night watching a nature special I saw this owl flying from tree to tree in daylight. I loved the dramatic pose and it's talons so I snapped a photo from the tv and drew this. I always have to invent a background for my creatures and this is difficult - I love this background of night actually falling...

I earned a BFA with Honors at UW Oshkosh, majoring in Figure Drawing (I earned a full year scholarship to Italy to an art school before graduating but the Professor gave it to an older student and explained to me I earned it but he thought I was 'too shy to live alone in Italy for a year'. I was embarrassed and never even told my family. Recently I wonder how my life would have been different had I been given that opportunity...I completed the 2 year Commercial Art degree at MATC in one year with high honors. Over 25 years ago I started my personal MFA by drawing specimens at the UW Zoology Museum. I'm the first non-employee they've given a key to go in when I want. I do not work from photographs unless forced to, sitting before my model is as important as drawing from a live figure was in college. There is an energy, and details, you never get from a photo. I have done many birds, badgers and foxes, life size, and creating backgrounds is difficult. I created a m0noprint technique to capture bone subjects in a tight 'drawing' like way with liquid ink. I've juried into 4 WI State Biennials, f3 of those were bone pieces. Born in Milwaukee, raised in Baraboo, since holding a crayon, I only wanted to be an Artist. But I've always had 'jobs' that took most of my energy - art was only weekends and at night. I wonder what I could've done it it had been my main focus in life.