Meet Peggy McNamara, a unique presence at the Field Museum. For over 35 years, Peggy has been the museum’s sole artist in residence, dedicating her time to studying, drawing, and painting the specimens on display. Her journey into the world of natural history began with art, much like Emily, who also found her passion for science through an art internship at a zoological museum. This shared love for art and science makes their collaboration special, as they come together to create art inspired by nature.
While drawing a caracal, Peggy shares her approach to art. She emphasizes the importance of time and careful observation, likening her method to scientific inquiry. By meticulously examining and sketching, she believes one can capture the essence of the subject, much like a scientist gathering data. Peggy’s process involves trial and error, using an eraser as a crucial tool for refining her work. She encourages embracing mistakes as part of the creative journey, a lesson applicable to many fields.
When it comes to painting, Peggy starts with simple shapes and layers of color. She compares the process to chemistry, where patience is key. Allowing each layer to dry before adding more prevents the colors from becoming muddled. Peggy’s use of vibrant colors, including unexpected blues and violets, adds depth and life to her work. She believes in experimenting with colors, even if it means some paintings don’t turn out as planned. This willingness to take risks is essential for artistic growth.
Peggy’s transition from painting figures to focusing on birds was driven by instinct and a fascination with their surprising colors and forms. She believes that studying perfectly made things, like birds, can enhance one’s artistic instincts. This idea resonates with Emily, who appreciates the unexpected beauty in nature. Peggy’s approach to color selection is intuitive, starting with primary and secondary colors and allowing the painting to evolve naturally.
Both Peggy and Emily discuss the importance of seeing beyond the obvious. Instead of focusing solely on outlines, they explore shapes and contours, using color to define the edges. This technique, reminiscent of the sfumato style, adds a sense of realism and depth to their work. Peggy’s playful approach to painting, where colors interact like characters in a story, highlights the joy of creativity.
Peggy wishes more people would embrace their artistic potential. She believes that many individuals are discouraged by the perceived need for innate talent. Instead, she advocates for art as a form of meditation and self-expression, free from judgment. Peggy encourages everyone to simply “make a thing,” emphasizing that art is a personal journey without strict rules or expectations.
In their artistic collaboration, Peggy and Emily demonstrate that art and science are deeply interconnected. Through careful observation, experimentation, and a willingness to embrace mistakes, they create works that capture the beauty and complexity of the natural world. Their conversation serves as a reminder that creativity is a lifelong journey, open to anyone willing to explore it.
Choose a natural specimen, such as a plant or animal, and spend 30 minutes observing it closely. Use a sketchpad to draw the specimen, focusing on capturing its essence through careful observation. Reflect on how this process is similar to scientific inquiry, noting any challenges or insights you encounter.
Experiment with painting by starting with simple shapes and gradually adding layers of color. Allow each layer to dry before applying the next. Use unexpected colors to add depth and interest to your work. Discuss with peers how this method compares to processes in chemistry and what you learned from the experience.
Select a subject from nature and create a painting using primary and secondary colors. Let your instincts guide your color choices, and allow the painting to evolve naturally. Afterward, share your work with classmates and discuss how instinct and inspiration played a role in your creative process.
Practice the sfumato technique by painting a scene where colors blend seamlessly to create depth and realism. Focus on using color to define shapes and contours rather than relying on outlines. Reflect on how this technique changes your perception of the subject and enhances your artistic skills.
Engage in a session of creating art purely for self-expression. Choose any medium and subject, and create without judgment or expectation. Use this time as a form of meditation, focusing on the process rather than the outcome. Share your experience with the group, discussing how this approach affects your view of art and creativity.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
**Emily:** Peggy McNamara is a fixture in the halls and behind the scenes at the Field Museum. She’s doing research of the artistic nature. Peggy’s the museum’s only artist in residence and has been studying, drawing, and painting the specimens on display and in the collections for the past 35 years. Some of you might not know this, but the whole reason I got into Natural History Museums in the first place was because of art. My internship at the Philip Bell Wright Zoological Museum in Montana was for art credits. I spent my last semester of college drawing and painting specimens in the museum. That’s how I first fell in love with science and nature, and the same goes for Peggy, too. So this episode is pretty special. Peggy came down to The Brain Scoop studio, so she and I could make some art together.
**Emily:** So, Peggy, I guess just to get chatting while we’re sitting here drawing our beautiful caracal. You’ve been an artist here at the Field Museum for a number of years.
**Peggy:** A long time.
**Emily:** I came in my twenties because everything held still, and there was free parking in front. I thought maybe by osmosis it would make me better, and I sort of believe that. Looking at well-made things and putting them down carefully—Isn’t that what scientists do?
**Emily:** Yeah.
**Peggy:** And then they get an idea. I think my whole drawing method revolves around having enough time. I crawl from here to here to here to here. Well, that’s a luxury. Then I curl down here, and it’s all wrong, then I curl down here. I mean, the tenth time through, it’s right.
**Emily:** So when you hold your pencil up, I kind of do this too. Sometimes I feel like I’m faking it; sometimes I feel like it works. What are you looking for?
**Peggy:** I’m holding it like, if I’m holding it right. Where is the tip of his ear here? Where does it begin? So I hold my pencil and close one eye, and it’s right above here. Now this, I wouldn’t just go: Oh, that’s down. Again, where’s that point? It’s right above his eye here, and how far over? It’s like MapQuest. You know, when we have kids in the museum, if you could put a piece of tracing paper around the glass and you gave them a pen and they didn’t move, they could draw it perfectly.
**Emily:** Yeah.
**Peggy:** That’s all we’re doing.
**Emily:** You’ve got an eraser there too.
**Peggy:** I always have it, and on the first day of class, I give everyone one and say it’s the most important tool they’ll ever use.
**Emily:** More important than the pencil.
**Peggy:** Yes. I think editing, knowing when you’re wrong and changing it—everybody does it in writing; everybody does it in a lot of things. I don’t know why they think you’re supposed to have the drawing right the first time through.
**Emily:** So when you start painting…
**Peggy:** I just did it by putting down big, simple shapes. You know, we’re desperate for something, so any place I can think of sticking another color, like there.
**Emily:** You just went for it with the blue.
**Peggy:** Sort of the complement of the yellow, but I can figure this part of his body is in shadow. This is the whole watercolor thing. If I try to work it too quickly, like if you nag someone, they’ll never do it. So the only way to get it to work is to let it dry and do the next layer. The only way you get into trouble is forcing it too quickly.
**Emily:** This is the part that I like; it’s like you can be like a chemist. I start by putting a really bright color down in the background, and then I usually go over it later. But I’m just gonna put yellow on it.
**Peggy:** Yes, there you go.
**Emily:** Why not?
**Peggy:** It’s the weirdest long body, isn’t it?
**Emily:** Yeah. It’s a big noodle. It’s like a giant hairy sausage.
**Peggy:** And then I try to… I don’t want any color to feel left out.
**Emily:** Like they talk to one another?
**Peggy:** Yeah, like, “Oh, she likes you better than me.” So I try to get everybody on there, and then I can always bring it back to something dull.
**Emily:** So when you look at something like this, you don’t just see brown and yellow and tan.
**Peggy:** Right, I am using lots of blues, and I always include the complement, so there’ll be violet.
**Emily:** Aren’t you ever afraid that something’s gonna turn out looking overly bright?
**Peggy:** I have enough bad ones; it doesn’t bother me. I don’t know how you get the good ones unless you accept a few bad ones, right?
**Emily:** Yeah.
**Peggy:** It’s all part of what I do.
**Emily:** That’s a pretty good lesson no matter what you do.
**Peggy:** Yes.
**Emily:** So how did you end up in the bird division after painting figures?
**Peggy:** You know how much is instinct? Like right now, your instincts are telling you what to do, not some law that you learned in school, right?
**Emily:** Sure.
**Peggy:** So how does one improve their instincts? My theory is you look at perfectly made things, and then maybe it’ll internalize or something.
**Emily:** Birds, then—what’s perfect about birds?
**Peggy:** Oh, they’re surprising, don’t you think?
**Emily:** Yeah. Well, they’re fun.
**Peggy:** Yeah, their colors just don’t make sense half the time. It’s like, wow, it’s like all the hair now. Finally, people’s hair is like birds. I guess someone today had great pink hair; I thought, finally, fun hair.
**Emily:** So do you have colors in mind when you start going?
**Peggy:** You know, I put out the primaries and secondaries, so there’s red, green, purple, yellow, orange, and blue, and everything is transparent.
**Emily:** Yeah.
**Peggy:** So that’s like dating; it’s nothing as permanent.
**Emily:** Wait, no cadmium or anything until after I’m committed?
**Peggy:** Yes, I do that, but all those kinds of routines… I even hate saying when I am in class because someone will think they have to do that.
**Emily:** They’ll be like, “Oh, Peggy said I should…”
**Peggy:** Yeah, which you know, get your own; you can develop your own thing. I mean, it’s hard to take off a cadmium.
**Emily:** My art teacher kind of told me that a line isn’t really like a line. When you see the edge of something, there’s no lines in nature. Everything has some sort of shape or contour, so when it comes to making the lines, you’re just taking a different value of color and filling in the rest of it. What did they call that technique? That’s not the sfumato.
**Peggy:** Yes.
**Emily:** I remembered!
**Peggy:** Very impressive that you just came up with that word. I’m putting white in my cat’s eyes, and it’s like waking him up. Like, “Hi, I’m alive.”
**Emily:** Man, this is a sort of painting I could spend a really long time on and still feel like I’m not getting anywhere. I think it’s just because he’s got this big noodle body.
**Peggy:** It’s because he’s all yellow.
**Emily:** That, that as well.
**Peggy:** Yes, it’s his fault.
**Emily:** And then if I was really gonna finish it, I’d do a lot of the texture with the palette knives. Whoo. Here we go. Things have been crazy now. Now he looks like he’s running out of a prairie fire or something. That’s fun. There we go. Tada. Peggy, what’s one thing that you wish people knew or appreciated about art?
**Peggy:** I think there’s much more talent out there that ever gets awakened. I think they get discouraged because they see the end product. In school, you know, you start in first grade, you go to basketball, and you play all summer. But somehow, with this, they think they gotta come ready-made with an idea and ability. If it works as meditation for you, then you’re supposed to be doing it, I think.
**Emily:** Yeah, there’s no judgment here.
**Peggy:** Yeah, and who says nowadays what’s good? Why not just make a thing?
**Emily:** Right, right.
**Peggy:** Make a thing.
**Emily:** Yeah, I like that. Congratulations! Yours is beautiful. This is amazing that you could complete that in just a short amount of time. I feel like you’ve really captured it.
**Peggy:** Well, I think I did okay. I would never spend a day; it’s always five days. This composition worked after all that in the beginning.
**Emily:** Yeah, do you think so?
**Peggy:** Yeah. I don’t think his body was interesting.
**Emily:** Yeah, because he’s got this kind of noodle body and then kind of the noodles up here.
**Peggy:** Yeah, you needed more time to develop the texture.
**Emily:** To develop the noodles a little bit more.
**Peggy:** Noodle development.
**Emily:** This is really where all the fun was happening, up in the face.
**Peggy:** Yeah.
**Emily:** I can’t say that I love this blue now that I’m looking at it, but you know what? You can always go back and redo it.
**Peggy:** Yes, you can. Nothing is final in art.
Art – The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. – The university’s art department hosted an exhibition showcasing the diverse talents of its students.
Observation – The action or process of closely observing or monitoring something or someone, often to gain information or insight, particularly in the context of creating art. – Her keen observation of human behavior was evident in the detailed expressions captured in her portraits.
Painting – The practice of applying pigment, color, or other medium to a solid surface, often used as a means of artistic expression. – The painting class focused on mastering techniques of light and shadow to enhance the realism of their work.
Colors – The property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light, often used in art to convey mood and emotion. – The vibrant colors in the mural transformed the dull hallway into a lively and inviting space.
Creativity – The use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness, especially in the arts. – The professor encouraged creativity in her students, urging them to explore unconventional materials in their sculptures.
Exploration – The action of traveling in or through an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it, often applied metaphorically in art to describe the investigation of new ideas or techniques. – The artist’s exploration of abstract forms led to a groundbreaking series of paintings that challenged traditional perspectives.
Instinct – An innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli, often used in art to describe a natural or intuitive way of creating. – Her instinct for composition allowed her to create visually balanced pieces without formal training.
Inspiration – The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative, often drawing from external influences. – The breathtaking landscape served as inspiration for his latest series of watercolor paintings.
Collaboration – The action of working with someone to produce or create something, frequently seen in the performing arts where multiple disciplines come together. – The collaboration between the dance and music departments resulted in a stunning interdisciplinary performance.
Expression – The process of making known one’s thoughts or feelings, often through artistic mediums such as music, dance, or visual arts. – Through her expression in dance, she conveyed emotions that words could not capture.
