Bearly Mischievous – Black Bears Rebecca Latham

Image © Rebecca Latham

About the Artist

Growing up in a family drawn to the outdoors, Rebecca has always experienced a closeness to the natural world. With the supportive encouragement of her parents, and finding a talent in art, she chose to focus her future as a painter in her mid teens.
Rebecca’s primary goal in her work is to use her work to help the creatures she paints as well as their habitat. She participates in numerous wildlife & habitat conservation fundraising events to increase awareness & has generated thousands of dollars for wildlife & conservation through her work. Her paintings have been featured on several conservation/hunting stamps including the 2003 MN wild turkey stamp and the Manitoba conservation stamp. She spends as much time as possible observing & experiencing the wildlife she paints: “We often take up to 5000 still photographs on a shoot. It is very important that the subject painted is studied from every available angle, as well as it’s habits & preferences”.
Because of her interest in the biological aspects of wildlife art, her work always reflects a personal experience with the species. “For me, the research and fieldwork involved are my favorite, rain or shine. There are many times I have to drag myself back to my studio to paint, as I would much rather spend all of my time outside.”
Additionally, just as Rebecca is dedicated to the preservation of wild lands and the wild creatures that depend on the existence of those places for their survival, the artist is also dedicated to the preservation of true traditional miniature painting in all it’s forms, a type of art that has been practiced since early writing. The artist and her family, all working ‘in miniature’ in their painting, work to raise awareness and education of classic miniature art. The artist is also devoted to encouraging young artists.
The original meaning of the word “miniature”, in referring to the classic traditional artform, means to paint very detailed and is not associated with size, smallness, or scale. As an artist working in that style, she has discussed the topic and studied research of some of the world’s leading experts on the subject of miniature painting as well as authoring documents of her own. All of Rebecca’s paintings are executed “in miniature”, both large and handheld.
Her style & technique are primarily influenced by her artist family, Karen & Bonnie. After studying many mediums & styles of painting and sculpture, she now works primarily in watercolor in a traditional Flemish style of working “in miniature”. Rebecca’s works range in size from 30″ x 40″ to 1″ x 1″. She is particularly enjoys painting small miniature works, “When painting these small pieces, I am always amazed at how they develop so quickly.”
Rebecca has been associated with  (DSWF) David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year exhibition (UK), (TWASI) The Wildlife Art Society International (UK), a signature member of the (SAA) Society of Animal Artists (NYC), a signature member of (AFC) Artists for Conservation (Canada), (IGOR) The International Guild of Realism (Scottsdale), (AAA) Allied Artists of America (nyc), (CLWAC) Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club (nyc), (AWS) American Watercolor Society (nyc), (APA) American Plains Artists, Mountain Oyster Club Art Show, & the (PSOA) Portrait Society of America. She was named “Artist of the Year” by Mn Ducks Unlimited for 2006, artist of the 2007 & 2009 Illinois Habitat Conservation prints & stamps. Rebecca was also chosen for Southwest Art’s “21 Under 31” for 2010.  Some of the miniature art societies the artist is also involved in include the (MPSGS) Miniature Painters, Sculptors, & Gravers Society, (MASF) Miniature Art Society of Florida, (HS) Hilliard Society of Miniaturists, the British Society of Miniaturists, & others.
Commissions include Harvard’s ‘Who Mentored You?’ program, the Butler Institute of American Art (for the permanent collection), The Hartford, & others.  Public collection purchases include the AL Wildlife Federation, Miniature Art Soc. of FL, IL Dept. of Natural Resources, and private collections in the United States, Canada, Australia, Scotland, France, England, Germany, & the Middle East.  Rebecca has also shown in some of the US and Britain’s most prestigious galleries and museums including the Smithsonian, Nature in Art (UK), Mall Galleries (London), Gilcrease, & others.  She regularly earns coveted honors for her work in international exhibitions in the states and abroad.