Art Institute Instructors
Chris Bondante has a master's in scientific and medical illustration and has worked professionally in the field for over twenty years. Her illustrations appear in books such as Key to the Invertebrates of Southern California Coastal Waters. Clients include the University of Southern California, Avon Books and California Fish & Game.
Grace Calterone has a B.S. in Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and an art certification from the University of Arizona. She taught a total of 17 years in public schools. She has received numerous awards and her paintings are in homes and businesses in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and Europe. Currently, she shows her work in 4 galleries in Tucson and one in Tubac. Her paintings were in the March 2006 issue of American Artist.
Anne-Marie Evans is a botanical artist and teacher living in England. She is an Honorary Director of the American Society of Botanical Artists and Honorary President of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society. Anne-Marie is a world-renowned instructor and lecturer. She is in great demand as a teacher of botanical painting around the world.
Linda M. Feltner is an artist who specializes in both the aesthetics and science of natural history. Her career has developed through book and magazine illustrations, numerous solo exhibitions, classroom teaching, interpretive consulting and interpretive media design, commissions, and lectures to professional organizations.
Susan T. Fisher is the Director of the Art Institute at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Susan is the past-president of the American Society of Botanical Artists. Her B.A. degree includes three years of advanced study in art history at the University of Bordeaux in France.
Ellen Fountain holds B.F.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Arizona. She was an artist-in-residence for the Arizona Commission on the Arts for five years, and is a juried signature member of several watercolor groups, including the National Watercolor Society. Her work has been featured in many articles and books, and she has produced a 5-disc DVD series on beginning watercolor painting. She exhibits in juried and invitational shows all over the U.S.
Janie Gildow is a graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in art education. She became a full-time professional colored pencil artist in 1996. Janie's art has been published in Best of Colored Pencil, Exploring Color and Creative Colored Pencil as well as American Artist and Artist's Magazine.
Diane Iverson is an award winning children's book author and illustrator. Diane has written and/or illustrated 12 books, including Discover the Seasons, Desert Alphabet Encyclopedia, My Favorite Tree and Rascal, Tassel-Eared Squirrel. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Arnie Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature in California. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
Mick Landau graduated from the Southend College (England). He has worked as a commercial photographer and instructor for over 20 years, as well as working with custom photographic and digital imaging labs. His present position is Fine Arts Liason for Photographic Works in Tucson, a lab specializing in all aspects of fine art reproduction.
Richard Lutgen has a B.A. in Creative Arts from San Francisco State University. He attended Brooks Institute of Photography, and managed an internationally recognized art photography gallery. An avid photographer, he enjoys working with the elements of visual design, photographing details and the abstract patterns of nature.
Catherine Nash received a B.F.A. in printmaking and drawing from the University of New Hampshire and graduated from the University of Arizona with an M.F.A. in mixed media. She is an artist-in-residence for the Tucson/Pima Arts Council and the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Her work has been shown across the U.S., Japan and Europe.
Peter Allen Nisbet received a Bachelor Degree from the University of North Carolina. In 1980 he moved to the South-west and began painting landscapes. Nisbet has traveled to such remote places as the South Pole and China, but his preferred locale for painting is in the deserts of the Southwest and Mexico. He is represented by the Meyer East Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, and the J.N. Bartfield Gallery in New York City.
Margaret Pope has done commissioned work for Borderlands Tours, Plants for the Southwest, Mary Odette Books and the Arizona Native Plant Society. Her interest in nature inspired her to become a docent at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and to pursue botanical illustration.
Robert Renfrow has an M.F.A. in Photography from the University of Arizona. He is an artist-in-residence for the Arizona commission on the Arts. Robert is co-founder of the nonprofit organization ARTIS. He graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute with a B.F.A. in Photography/Video.
Rick Wheeler has attended both the San Francisco Art Institute and the San Francisco Academy of Art. He is best known for his scratchboard work and has won numerous awards including the 'Gold' Award and the Addy Award. His clients include Arches, Canyonlands, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Hovenweep, Joshua Tree, Mesa Verde, Sequoia, and Yosemite National Parks.
Nicholas Wilson has been a professional painter, muralist, print maker, sculptor and teacher for over 40 years. His paintings and sculptures continue to be exhibited annually in dozens of museums nationally and abroad and are in several corporate and museum collections.
