Art Exhibits
Enjoy art inspired by both nature and the human experience of life in the world at The Green Center. Exhibits are free and open to the public throughout the year. Proceeds of art exhibit sales support The Green Center's youth arts programs.
Contact us if you have nature inspired artwork that you would like to display at The Green Center!
Contact us if you have nature inspired artwork that you would like to display at The Green Center!
COMING SOON: "Native Flora & Fauna of the Midwest in Watercolor" Catherine Hu
Opening Reception: Tuesday, May 10 at 6pm
Exhibit: May 10- *July 1, 2022 (*new end date)
Artist Statement:
I have a unique perspective as an artist because I am so immersed in the subjects of my paintings in my day to day life. I work as a land manager at Forest Park, conducting ecological restoration in the forests and savannas (helping degraded ecosystems become healthy again). I'm a self-taught artist and I paint to observe and learn about the natural world with a particular focus on native plants and animals of the Midwest. Therefore, it is important to me that my paintings are accurate and realistic. Using feathering, lifting, masking and layering, I capture details that aid in identification.
My main work is natural science illustration. The primary medium I use is transparent watercolor, but I'll occasionally add Japanese Gansai paint, gouache, colored pencil, or white gel pen. I am intrigued by the colors and shapes found in nature; I'm especially fascinated by relationships between organisms and how they have adapted to live with each other. My goal is to share the beautiful flora and fauna that occur naturally here in the Midwest and to hopefully encourage others to plant natives!
This exhibit features prints of pieces I painted in the past year. The larger paintings show the plant in different stages of its life. I've worked with each of these species closely in the field, and painting them has furthered my understanding of what they look like in all seasons. I've also enjoyed painting birds and want to start including more animals into my work, especially insects that have interesting relationships with native plants.
Past Art Exhibits
- Webster Groves Nature Study Society Photo Competition, 2015
- 20 Years Celebrating Nature & the Environment through Photography, 2015
- An Enchanted World- Just Add Watercolor: Cocoa, Coffee, Sunflowers and Butterflies by Dina Fachin, 2016
- "A Peek Inside the Artist's Sketchbook" by Hilarie Hunt, 2016
- "In the Garden" by Terri Shay, 2017
- Portraits of Courage, Phyllis MacLaren, 2017
- Vermilion in Tooth and Claw, Winners of the Webster Groves Nature Study Society Natural History Photography Contest, 2017
- "The World, Two Wheels & A Sketchbook" by Sophie Binder, 2017
- "Birds" by Jeff Kapfer, 2018
- "A Journey In Abstraction" by Jane Miles, 2018
- Artwork by Jeffrey Sippel, 2018
- "Flowers for the Garden" by Amber Donlan, 2019
- UCity In Bloom Plein Air Contest Winners-Various artists and students from the School District of University City, 2019
- "Patty Sheppard Ceramics" by Patty M Sheppard, 2021
- "Pen and Ink" by Gary Gackstatter, 2022