Jennifer O’Cualain is a prolific painter of all things natural. Her popular wildlife paintings touch on the idea of illustrating the simple and honest physical characteristics of many species ranging from field mice to bison.
“I strive to make my paintings more like portraits than typical animal art. The feel of fur under your hand is a relatively universal goal, but I want my viewer to get a sense of the individual animal.”
Jennifer O’Cualain is a prolific painter of all things natural. Her popular wildlife paintings touch on the idea of illustrating the simple and honest physical characteristics of many species ranging from field mice to bison.
“I strive to make my paintings more like portraits than typical animal art. The feel of fur under your hand is a relatively universal goal, but I want my viewer to get a sense of the individual animal.”
After graduating from Arizona State University in 1995 with a Bachelor’s Degree in painting, Jennifer continued to attend figure drawing classes. As a people portrait artist throughout high school and college, she knew that one day her love of animals would need to become a larger part of her everyday life. Now she has the opportunity to continue developing her ability to capture a likeness with her desire to spend time with animals.
“Traveling has allowed me to get close to animals in the wild in a way like I’d never expected. Last year I stood 10 feet away from a mature Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep while visiting Glacier National Monument. He stood only briefly while I stared in awe. I could see deep into his big dark eyes. This majestic wild animal had no fear of me, in fact, I almost felt as if he were as curious about me as I was about him. I feel an absolutely real sense that there is much more communication between humans and animals than anyone really considers.”
Jennifer has won countless awards for her work including a full scholarship to the Art Institute of Southern California at Laguna Beach, a full scholarship to attend Arizona State University and a cash scholarship offered only once by critically acclaimed James Reynolds, CAA.
In 2010, Jennifer was honored by the Oil Painter’s of America for Animals Award of Excellence for Associate and Signature members.
Like Norman Rockwell, Seuss personally created every rough sketch, preliminary drawing, final line drawing and finished work for each page of every project he illustrated. Despite the technical and budgetary limitations of color printing during the early and mid-twentieth century, Dr. Seuss the artist was meticulous about color selection. He created specially numbered color charts and elaborate color call-outs to precisely accomplish his vision for each book. Saturated reds and blues, for example, were carefully chosen for The Cat in the Hat to attract and maintain the visual attention of a six-year-old audience. By the time Seuss’s book career took off, sharp draftsman skills were evident in drawings. His ability to move a storyline ahead via illustrations filled with tension, movement and color became a hallmark component of his work, and the surreal images that unfolded over six decades became the catalyst for a humorous and inspired learning experience.
Artist Leo Rijn, the inaugural sculptor for the Dr. Seuss Tribute Collection I, was selected to launch this project due to his prized work with some of today’s top talent in the world of film, entertainment and the visual arts (including Tim Burton, Ang Lee and Steven Spielberg). Rijn has been identified as one of today’s brightest sculpting talents because of his ability to breathe life into the written word and successfully transform two-dimensional ideas into three-dimensional works of art. Universal Studios commissioned Leo to develop and oversee the creation of numerous maquette scale models for the Monumental Dr. Seuss Sculptures at Seuss Landing in Orlando, Florida. Leo was instrumental in the art direction for many of the sculpted characters and buildings now on display at this permanent Seuss attraction. His strikingly accurate Seuss works embody a masterful and intuitive Seussian sensibility, establishing him as a leading talent in interpretive sculpting.
Seuss embarked on an ingenious project in the early 1930s as he evolved from two-dimensional artworks to three-dimensional sculptures. What was most unusual for these mixed-media sculptures was the use of real animal parts including beaks, antlers and horns from deceased Forest Park Zoo animals where Seuss’s father was superintendent. Unorthodox Collection of Taxidermy was born in a cramped New York apartment and included a menagerie of inventive creatures with names like the “Two Horned Drouberhannis,” “Andulovian Grackler,” and “Semi-Normal Green-Lidded Fawn.” Shortly after Seuss created this unique collection of artworks, Look Magazine dubbed Seuss “The World’s Most Eminent Authority on Unheard-Of Animals.” To this day, Seuss’s Unorthodox Collection of Taxidermy remains as some of the finest examples of his inventive and multi-dimensional creativity.
Illustrator by day, surrealist by night, Seuss created a body of irrepressible work that redefines this American icon as an iconographic American artist. Yet, the Secret Art often shows a side of the artist that most readers, familiar with him through his classic children’s books, have never seen. This collection, created over a period of more than 60 years, encompasses the entirety of Seuss’s multi-dimensional talent. The artistic golden thread highlighted throughout this collection is apparent in each wildly imaginative and surreal Secret Art image. The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss is an inimitable collection of artworks created at night for his own personal enjoyment. These works were rarely, if ever, exhibited during his lifetime and provide a deeper glimpse into the art and life of this celebrated American Icon.
Signature Gallery Group a Managing and Accounting company.
