Fur, Feathers + Fins

Artist/Instructor: Polly Little
Dates: Sunday, February 1 and 8
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 PM 

All supplies included

Depicting animals in art can be a complex and thought-provoking process. What message is the artist trying to communicate through their chosen animal? This acrylic painting workshop, inspired by the exhibition Beasts of Burden: Animals as Objects, invites participants to explore these questions. Attendees are encouraged to bring an image or photograph of an animal they wish to portray and reflect on the environmental impact that animal has experienced. Guided by the artist, Polly Little, participants will use acrylic paints in an expressive or impressionistic style, focusing on capturing their subject's essence and emotional resonance rather than aiming for photographic realism.

“I make paintings of animals because their intelligence and natural beauty fascinate me. Animal instincts can mirror human behavior, but more often reflect an aspect of survival. Some works refer to the predator-prey relationship, some to the possibility of extinction, and some to basic survival. Wild animals learn a lack of trust, while domesticated animals learn trust. Whether this is unnatural or natural does not matter, but the purity of animals’ action and reaction moves me to use animals as subject matter.”

Suggested Supplies:

Bring a photograph, computer printout, page from a magazine, or other image source of an animal or animals you would like to use as the subject of your acrylic painting on canvas board.

Polly Little 
Polly Little is a printmaker and painter based in Buffalo, NY. She received her BA in fine arts from Missouri Western State College in 1976. In 1978, she received a BFA in painting and drawing from the University of New Mexico and an MA in 1980. Polly Little is a Western New York artist known for her portraits of people and animals. She works with Oil, pastel, and ink. She is also known for her inked wood blocking. An alumnus of the University of New Mexico, Polly has become a Professor and the Development Director of Hallwalls Art Center. Polly Little was a Development Director at the Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center for 15 years. She also taught at other universities throughout Western New York. These schools included Daemen College, Erie Community College, Arts in Education Institute of Western New York, Williamsville Public School District, and Medaille College. She held exhibitions at the museums across Western New York. These include the Albright Knox Museum, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Rockefeller Art Center and Burchfield Penney Art Center. 

“My work has always had an expressionist attitude. The energetic brush strokes and chisel marks suggest constant change or movement and reflect life's constant changes and challenges in all its forms.”

For Further information, please contact Kathy Shiroki