|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sue is an active member of her local chapter of the National Audubon Society. From 1985-1997 this was the Onondaga chapter where she served as President, Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor. From 1998 to present she has been a board member or officer of the Audubon Society of the Capital Region where she is currently Treasurer. Sue has also been an active member of the New York State Ornithological Society since 1990 and served as a board member, Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor from 1997 2001. Sue is a regular volunteer for bird surveys which have included the New York State Breeding Bird Atlas (New York State Ornithological Association/NYS Department of Environmental Conservation), the Breeding Bird Surveys (US Fish and Wildlife Service), Lake Ontario Migration Study (The Nature Conservancy), Grindstone Island census (The Thousand Islands Land Trust) and others. Sue is also a supporting member of The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defense and The American Bird Conservancy. Part of Sue's personal philosophy on conservation is expressed well by a quote from 18th century British statesman Edmund Burke"Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little". She encourages others to be conservation minded by setting obvious examples such as recycling at work (don't throw that can away just because you're not at home!), using native plants and organic fertilizers and weed control in her yard, and through editorials in the newsletters she has edited. Sue also believes people will not practice good stewardship of our environment if they don't care about the natural world, and hopes to inspire this through her artwork and by leading children and adults on field trips for birds and butterflies. Sue's early love of art was reawakened in the 21st Century as her more recent passion for all things natural gave her inspiration to once again pick up pencil and brush. "I have evolved from "never knowing what to draw" in my teens and twenties to feeling I will never have enough time to capture on paper all that now inspires me. I focus mainly on birds and butterflies since these are the subjects I know and love best. I have been an avid birder for twenty years and an equally avid butterflier for the last ten. I have worked as a volunteer on numerous surveys of birds in New York State and started the Helderberg Fourth of July Butterfly Count in Albany County in 2003. I have recently used both my birding and artistic skills in connection with the second breeding bird atlas for New York, working both as a volunteer in a number of survey blocks, and professionally as one of the illustrators for the atlas publication." Living in Schenectady, New York keeps Sue close to her current career in finance, but also centrally located to a number of excellent birding areasthe Adirondack Mountains, Long Island beaches and the shoreline of Lake Ontario. Many varieties of butterflies are easy to find in these and other specialized locations such as the Albany Pine Bush. Sue carries her digital camera, binoculars and spotting scope with her on field trips, so that she can observe and document wildlife when in the field. She uses the resulting photographs and experiences to create drawings in her studio using various combinations of graphite, watercolor and colored pencil . She has traveled extensively in North America and has made several trips to the neo-tropics. "My desire to share my appreciation and sense of wonder in the natural world helps me bring my favorite subjects to life on paper. I strive to create artwork that captures the character and beauty of the creatures I love."
View Web Site... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|