Animal muse: Get creative with 'Fur, Feathers, Scales, Skin: Animal Painting in a Weekend'

Sep. 1—Fur, feathers, scales and skin.

Fluffy, velvety, sleek or scaly, students can learn to paint any animal they please after attending "Animal Painting in a Weekend" at the Harwood Art Center on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 7 and 8.

Instructor and painter, Natalie Voelker, will lead artists through simple shapes, lights and darks, color and texture to bring their favorite critters to life.

It all started when Voelker painted a series focusing on her dog about three years ago. The 10-painting series sold out.

"As I was painting them, I talked about how the dog represents me because dogs are both domestic and wild," she said.

This marks her third time teaching the class.

"It's been really fun and it's interesting," Voelker said. "I was kind of expecting people to want to paint just their pets. But the first one I taught, everyone wanted to paint birds."

Voelker asks each participant to bring a photograph of their chosen animal, as well as their own oil paints.

"They pick whatever animal they want to paint," she said. "My approach to painting is more traditional. I think that's more accessible to people to have steps one, two and three.

"At first, I look at everyone's reference," Voelker continued. "I get a lot of people who've never done this before.

Her students draw the form with paint, usually brown. Color comes later.

"Painting is a practice of observation," Voelker said. "Then you paint over it with a second coat. It's very process-oriented. So far, everyone's been very happy with the results."

Some of the works are abstract, others are more realistic depictions.

The two-day marathon allows Voelker to give more individual attention to her students. She's seen everything from crows to hawks, cats and a fox. One creative painter produced a goat person lifted from a meme. Another painted a punk rock pig.

She traced the class' popularity to deeper meanings.

"I think it's very easy to say something about ourselves and our humanity by using animals," Voelker said. "They can express a more emotional side for us."

A Helene Wurlitzer Foundation fellow and international BP Portrait Award exhibitor, Voelker creates paintings that investigate complexity and transcendence in seemingly ordinary people. Her painting, "Davetta," has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Her work has been featured in multiple publications including the anthology, BARED, and the French-English magazine, VolUp. Voelker has produced commissioned works for the Harwood Art Center, 508 Mural Festival, the city of Albuquerque, and various private collections — both nationally and abroad. She has a BFA from the University of Wisconsin.