Lincolnwood Village Hall’s art gallery is hosting artist Laurie Walker’s collection of animal-inspired works for the gallery’s sixth and final exhibit of the year.
The exhibition will be open through the end of December and captures wild animals in a series of realistic-looking paintings and pet portraits Walker creates using acrylic paints on canvas and stone.
Working out of her Glenview home, Walker uses photos of wild animals to recreate their appearance on smooth canvas by dipping very fine paintbrushes into thinned paint and building up the textures of their fur starting with light colors at the base and gradually adding dark pigments at the surface, she said.
The result is a very realistic-looking portrait of the animal, which she said helps her connect with nature and raise awareness about wildlife.
Standing in the village hall lobby where the walls are now lined with Walker’s images, she described her fascination with wildlife during the Nov. 9 artist’s reception the village held for her.
“I think people sometimes overlook how beautiful wild animals are, so I hope my work helps bring out that beauty,” Walker said.
Walker recently caught the eye of gallery curator Shirley Engelstein, who selects six artists each year to exhibit their art collections in village hall. The two met at the Wilmette Arts Guild, where Walker chairs a scholarship program and runs a student art show.
“I saw a rabbit she painted and I couldn’t take my eyes off it—the animals practically look real,” Engelstein said. “The incredible detail in which she executes her paintings is something special.”
After spending several decades focusing on making wildlife come alive on paper, Walker added pets and beach scenes to her scope of work as an artist, she said.
She said animal lovers who lose their pets sometimes commission her to paint portraits of their dogs and cats to preserve their memory.
Born in Port Washington, New York, Walker graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, where she met her husband Scott, and later moved to Wilmette, where she lived for 28 years before recently moving to Glenview.
Walker said her works have appeared in shows in Houston, Memphis, Wilmette, New York, Puerto Rico and Palm Beach, Florida.
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She also teaches art classes for schools and churches in the North Shore area, and she runs a summer art programs for kids called “Backyard Art.”
Walker’s collection of animal portraits is on display at village hall, 6900 N. Lincoln Ave., through the end of December.
Natalie Hayes is a freelancer.