Illustrators wanted (palaeoart and animals/plants)

This is a request for artists to work with me for an exhibition. Please help spread it around to any artists or artist forums you know of. Artists do not have to be in Cyprus, it can all be done online. If your interest is piqued after reading the description below, contact me at m.srour@enaliaphysis.org.cy. Thanks!

I will be organising a palaeontology exhibition in spring next year (I can’t give out dates and details just yet). There will be two main parts to it: one on Cypriot palaeontology (the fossils of Cyprus presented in a geological and palaeoecological context) and a general run through the history of life on Earth. It will be an educational exhibition, aimed at the lay public and schools.

I want the exhibition to feature posters depicting the iconic times of Earth’s history. An Ediacaran seascape, Cambrian freaks swimming around, the earliest land plants, a Carboniferous swamp, an Ice Age landscape with mammoths and sabertooths, even depictions of unique localities (e.g. a lagoon system with Archaeopteryxes flying around, representing Solnhofen). A couple of standard marine seascapes will also be needed, for the Cyprus palaeontology part. Individual posters for the most iconic of extinct animals and plants would also be cool – trilos, ammonites, dinosaurs, you know the drill.

Besides a very strict demand for scientific accuracy (everything will be drawn under my direction), artistic license will be given. It can be traditional (pencil, painting, pastels, charcoal…) or digital. You do not have to be a superamazingly realistic artist either, as long as it gives a sense of woah, this is a foreign landscape yet still recognisable. The only thing that’s out of the question is abstract art, for obvious reasons.

Because this is still in the pre-alpha stages of planning, I cannot promise any pay. The worst-case scenario is that there will be no money to pay you. To compensate for this, there will be several rewards:

• Exposition and free advertisement. Your name will be plastered where relevant on the brochures, on the exhibit website, with the drawing tied to your name. So you gain a lot of recognition, both locally and internationally (this will be advertised internationally and online).
• You retain full copyright for your art, of course. You can add it to your portfolio and do whatever you want with it.
• There will be a stall in the exhibition where all drawings can be purchased on request. Additionally, they can also be sold online through the exhibit website (with your permission). You get all the proceeds (minus any printing and shipping costs), and you can set the price within reasonable ranges.

I hope this is acceptable enough; if there’s anything else that can easily be added as recompensation, let me know. Even if it does turn out that there will be enough funding to pay you, these will still remain the same, but it’s always best to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

The number of drawings is also entirely up to you – I can’t make demands if I’m not paying, after all. You can do one, you can do three, you can take over the entire project. Whatever suits you best. The theme of your drawing(s) will be discussed with me.

Priority will be given to students and young artists that aren’t well-established. They need it more than the big guys.

Note for regular readers who may be interested: As a zoologist and palaeontologist, of course I have drawing skills – it’s in the basic toolset. But they’re limited to palaeontological hyperrealism, tracing under a camera lucida, or rough sketching. Anything else, such as a landscape painting, requires an inordinate amount of time and won’t turn out so good anyway.

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