Instagram story viewer> @lucygemart> Posts

Lucy

@lucygemart

1.4K

followers

863

following

art, nature, art about nature

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

Painting only during baby naps is a fun new adventure but I’m just happy I found any time to paint at all and that it turned out not too bad. I achieved what I was going for in some areas and less so in other parts but overall I’m happy and had fun with this painting. And look I even made it into a reel!

“Shadows on Minnewanka”, 14x14” acrylic on canvas

#acrylicpainting #acrylicart #lakeminnewanka #banffab #banffart #albertaart #albertaartist #banffnationalpark #banffalberta #content #artreel #paintingprocess taken in Banff National Park by @lucygemart

94

6

4 years ago

I honestly thought I’d never finish this painting.

I started it almost a year ago and it first it progressed quickly. But then I just couldn’t get certain parts to look right. And when I did, other parts I thought were complete started looking wrong. I painted over every part of the painting except the elk at least one and it still wasn’t quite how I imagined it. So I gave up and put it on the shelf until this spring.

The thing I’ve found about creating is that sometimes with a break you can look at your work with fresh eyes and see exactly what’s needed. When I took the painting back out this spring, it was clear to me what I had to do. Which was... paint over all my progress except the elk and start again.

This seemed tedious at first but it ended up being the right call. I was worried I’d never be happy with this painting, and it was certainly a lesson in patience and endurance but I’m glad I stuck with it because now I’m really pleased with this piece and excited to share it with everyone.

I imagine this bull elk’s bugle echoing across the foothills to the distant mountains on a mellow September day at the beginning of the rut reason. Decades before I’d seen an elk in person I became fascinated with their eerie yet lovely autumn call and it’s something I’ve painted many times over the years now.

“Foothills King”, acrylic on canvas, 14x18 inches. Awesome photos by @timcarlielle, excellent views and lighting by nature.

#acrylicpainting #acryliconcanvas #wildlifeart #wildlifeartist #bullelk #elk #elkart #elkhunting #foothills #womenwhopaint #shepaints #painteveryday #artoutside #outdoorsart #albertaart #albertaartist #livecolourfully #elkbugle #elkcountry #reddeer #epicviews #artistsoninstagram #canadianartists #goldenhourlight #wildelk #albertawildlife #canadianwildlife #selftaughtartist #banffnp #albertafoothills taken in Alberta by @lucygemart

218

28

6 years ago

Tim made me a reel and said I should post it so I am. It’s me! Painting at Smuggler Cove on the Sunshine Coast of BC! One of my favourite spots in the whole world.

#imadeareel #sothereinstagram #takethatalgorithm #sunshinecoastbc #watercolourart #outdoorsart #natureart #pleinair by @lucygemart

176

13

5 years ago

#sciartseptember Day 28 - Snow Goose for “Harvest” | Akimiski Island KBA, ON

*

Migratory snow geese are harvested for food all across their range. First Nations peoples from the mainland have been hunting the lesser snow geese that breed on Akimiski Island in James Bay for many generations.

*

I like the blue morph of snow goose! And this is the final drawing I was able to finish ahead of time for #sciartsept. I have five left I will complete and post in October. I hope those who saw these enjoyed them and learned something about KBAs and the species within them. Thanks for following along and big big thanks to the wonderful @lizlagomorph for co-hosting another awesome month of art with me. See you next year!

#sciartseptember2025 #snowgoose #lessersnowgoose #snowgeese #bluemorphsnowgoose #jamesbay #wildlifeart #animalart #birdart #kba #keybiodiversityarea taken in Canada by @lucygemart

25

1

a year ago

#sciartseptember Day 26 - Bank Swallow for “Forage” | Long Point KBA, ON

*

Aerial insectivores like the bank swallow, which forage on insects while in flight, are one of the fastest and most significantly declining groups of birds in Canada. According to @birds.canada most recent State of Canada’s Birds report, average population decline in this group of birds is 43% in the last 50 years. Loss of insects due to pesticide and habitat destruction is a significant driver of these declines.

#sciartsept #sciartseptember2025 #bankswallow #aerialinsectivores #canadianbirds #birdscanada #stateofcanadasbirds #speciesatrisk #longpoint #longpointbeach #kba #keybiodiversityarea taken in Canada by @lucygemart

25

0

a year ago

#sciartseptember Day 25 - Whooping Crane for “Tireless” | Whooping Crane Nesting Area and Summer Range KBA, NT

*

Down to only 21 individuals remaining in the 1940s due to habitat loss and overhunting, tireless conservation through captive breeding and reintroductions have brought Whooping Crane populations back into the hundreds. However, there is still work to be done - the wild populations of these elegant long-distance migrators are still not self-sustaining.

#sciartsept #sciartseptember2025 #whoppingcrane #birdart #crane #speciesatrisk #endangeredbirds #rarebirds #natureillustration #natureart #wildlifeartist #kba #keybiodiversityarea taken in Canada by @lucygemart

23

0

a year ago

#sciartseptember Day 24 - Northern Myotis for “Numbered” | Wildhorse Wildland KBA, Alberta

*

Northern Myotis (Long-Eared Bats) roost by the thousands in Alberta, including in Wildhorse Wildland KBA. However, bats’ days may be numbered - this and other North American species have seen sharp population declines as white nose fungus, an indiscriminate bat killer, spreads across the continent.

*

The loss of bats has been drastic and tragic, and the recent arrival of white nose fungus in Alberta is very scary. I’m a huge admirer of the work done by some of my colleagues through the @abcommunitybatprogram, which works to research and treat white nose fungus and educate the public on how to live with and help our batty neighbours. Tireless conservationists save species!

#sciartsept #sciartseptember2025 #bats #batsofinstagram #whitenosefungus #myotis #longearedbat #batart #savebats #batconservation #albertabats #wildlifeconservation #natureart #natureillustration taken in Canada by @lucygemart

18

0

a year ago

#sciartseptember Day 22 - Swift Fox for “Fellowship” | Onefour - Lost River - Sage Creek KBA, AB

*

Once abundant across Canada’s prairies, habitat loss and hunting led to the complete extirpation of this little canid by 1938. Through intense collaborative captive breeding and reintroduction efforts between many organizations in both Canada and the US, swift foxes have returned to our native grasslands. However, they are still at risk as intact prairie continues to disappear.

*

The size of a housecat, these little foxes truly are swift, clocking in at 60 km/h at top speed.

#sciartsept #sciartseptember2025 #scienceart #swiftfox #wildfox #canidconservation #endangeredspecies #foxconservation #speciesatrisk #kba #keybiodiversityarea #natureart #natureartist taken in Canada by @lucygemart

27

3

a year ago

#sciartseptember Day 21 - Double Crested Cormorant for “Reef” | North Lake Winnepegosis Reefs KBA, MB

*

Excellent fishers and swimmers, Double Crested Cormorants breed in large colonies near water all across Canada. Over 2% of the entire Canadian population nests on the rocky “reefs” in northern Lake Winnipegosis. This drawing shows their characteristic pose used for drying their feathers after a dive.

*

Cormorants are a strangely polarizing species. They’re kind of sneaky and odd-looking, and many people who fish for a living dislike competing with them for fish. Their poop is also very caustic and tends to damage anything that lies beneath their nests or perches. One of my coworkers even called them “not her favourite KBA species” (harsh!), and we like all of our KBA beings.

But personally I’ve always had a soft spot for cormorants. I read a picture book as a child about how ancient Chinese fisherman would train cormorants to bring fish back to their boats by putting a metal ring around the birds’ necks that made their throat too narrow to swallow fish whole. So the birds would grab whole fish, bring them back to the boats, and the fishermen would tear them small pieces they could swallow. Also, I remember they had a roosting spot on the drive to my grandparents’ place as a kid, so I knew when I saw them we were close to visiting (and swimming in papa and grandma’s awesome pool).

Anyway I hope that this photo shows the beauty that cormorants have their own beauty, with their colourful oil slick feathers and (slightly insane) turquoise eyes.

#sciartseptember2025 #sciartsept #cormorant #winnipegosis #doublecrestedcormorant #birdart #scienceart #natureart #natureillustration #birddrawing taken in Canada by @lucygemart

24

2

a year ago

#sciartseptember Day 20 - Westslope Cutthroat Trout for “Glacial” | Gorge Creek KBA, AB

*

Alberta’s native trout depend on cold, clean, connected water, often living in glacier-fed creeks. Climate change is warming those waters while resource development activities muddy and divert them, making all species of trout native to Alberta at risk.

*

This KBA in progress is near and dear to my heart - literally, because it’s only a 45 min drive from my home and I have hiked along the banks of Gorge Creek many times.

#sciartsept #sciartseptember2025 #cutthroat #westslopecutthroat #nativetrout #troutart #coldcleanwater #albertatrout #glacial #fishart #natureart #natureartist taken in Canada by @lucygemart

17

1

a year ago

#sciartseptember Day 18 - Misty Lake Lentic and Lotic Threespine Sticklebacks for “Cenote” | Misty Lake KBA, BC

*

Threespine Sticklebacks are small fish found in both fresh and salt water. In a number of small Vancouver Island lakes, they have diverged into species pairs that occupy different niches in the same area. In the case of Misty Lake, they have become two species, one that occupies the flowing streams (lentic) feeding into the lake and one that occupies the slow deeper waters (lotic).

*

This was a tricky prompt because there are few true cenotes in Canada and none of them are KBAs, so I stretched my interpretation to just include small water bodies.

#sciartsept #sciartseptember2025 #cenote #mistylake #bclakes #sticklebacks #bcfish #natureart #divergentevolution #natureillustration #fishart #kba #keybiodiversityarea taken in Vancouver Island, BC by @lucygemart

20

1

a year ago

#sciartseptember Day 17 - Southern Resident Killer Whale for “Trawl” | Amphitrite and Swiftsure Banks (candidate) KBA, BC

*

Numbering fewer than 80 individuals, the Southern Resident Killer Whale population of the Salish Sea specializes on eating fish, particularly salmon. As a result, their enduring survival is threatened by activities like trawling in their home range, which has a high degree of salmon bycatch, removing available food for the orcas.

*

I believe collectively @lizlagomorph and I have spent five years of our lives drawing orcas.

#sciartsept #sciartseptember2025 #orca #killerwhale #southernresidentkillerwhales #salishsea #endangeredspecies #orcas #orcaart #savethewhales #natureart #natureillustration taken in Canada by @lucygemart

23

3

a year ago