Zoe Keller Illustrates Snakes, Insects, and Flowers

By
Jovana A
-

Portland-based illustrator Zoe Keller drew us into the world of her art that’s adored by thousands of people. In Scale & Bone, Keller illustrates various snakes that sometimes look terrifying. Each of her illustrations has the elements of life and death, representing the cyclical processes that happen in nature.

View this post on Instagram

Thank you so much to @antlerpdx for the opening of “Scale and Bone” last night! The virtual tour of the show is up on their page, and there will be limited opening hours each weekend this coming month if you would like to safely view the show in person (check out their page for details). . . . Over the next few weeks I will be sharing the stories behind the drawings in this series. You can check out the full show on my website (link in profile). . . . In this 34” x 43” piece “Black Pine Snake,” three species of birds that breed in Longleaf Pine forests and use snakeskin to construct their nests raise their young in the skeleton of a Threatened Black Pine Snake. The birds from top to bottom are: Carolina Wren, Great Crested Flycatcher (depicted as a nest and eggs), and Blue Grosbeak. This is one of three drawings in my show “Scale and Bone” that is centered around Longleaf Pine forest species. Longleaf Pine forests once covered 90 million acres in the Southeast, stretching from Virginia to Florida, and west into eastern Texas. Today, only three percent of the original forest remains, lost to hundreds of years of commercial logging, fire suppression, the conversion of forest to urban development and livestock grazing, and the replanting of forests with faster growing species of pine. These rich forests are dominated by their namesake Longleaf Pine, an evergreen conifer that grows 80 to 100 feet (24 to 30 meters) tall and has leaves that can grow up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) long. But there is much more to these forests than Pinus palustris; mature Longleaf Pine savannas can contain up to 40 species of plants, making them one of the most diverse plant communities on the globe. Even in their fragmented state, remaining stands of Longleaf Pine forest harbor almost 200 species of birds and hundreds of animal species. More than 30 of these species are endangered and threatened, including two species of snakes that have been designated as Threatened at the federal level: the Eastern Indigo Snake and Black Pine Snake. Although it has not yet received federal designation, the fate of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake [continued in comments]

A post shared by Zoe Keller Art (@zoekellerart) on

The artist has always been fascinated by snakes “because they elicit such a strong response in so many people,” as she told This is Colossal. Her art is her way to send the message about the destruction of ecosystems and the biodiversity we’re losing. “Through the use of visual narratives that are interjected with surreal and magical elements, I hope to allow the species in my drawings to speak with urgency to the forces causing their decline in this time of human-driven mass extinction,” Keller says.

Her work is currently on display at Antler Gallery in Portland and you available as a virtual tour so you can see it from anywhere in the world. Join 115k other people who follow Keller on Instagram to get updates about her work and enjoy her unique art.

View this post on Instagram

My new show “Scale and Bone” opens at @antlerpdx today, Thursday, June 25th! 🥳 Thanks for sticking with me as I post all the details about exploring the show one last time, below. In future posts I’ll be explaining the stories behind each drawing in the series! 🐍 No plans for prints yet but I’ll keep y’all posted! . . All of the work is now available for purchase via the @antlerpdx website: antlerpdx.com . . If you are outside of Portland or are staying safe at home, you can join @antlerpdx for a virtual gallery tour on IGTV today at 6pm PST! You will be able to see the whole gallery space, including my work and work by @faisalwarsani in the front room. If you can’t make 6pm PST, not to fear, a recording of the walk-through will be available on the Antler Instagram page afterwards too! . . If you are in Portland, the Antler crew is offering a limited number of time slots for in-person viewings from 6m today, Thursday the 25th. Groups of five or fewer, masks required and social distancing measures will be in place. RSVP for an in-person viewing appointment to: [email protected] Additional open hours will be available throughout the month. Follow their page for details! (I will add a personal note that the folx running Antler gallery are precious, precious humans. Plz do not go to the gallery in person to see my work if there’s even a slight chance that you have been exposed. I’ll still be making drawings post-pandemic.) . . . The whole series of drawings – with close-ups of all the details and narrative text explaining the species in each piece – is also up on my website! Link to my websites at the top of my profile. 💕

A post shared by Zoe Keller Art (@zoekellerart) on

View this post on Instagram

My new show “Scale and Bone” opens at @antlerpdx TOMORROW, on Thursday, June 25th! There will be a few ways to explore the show, described below. No plans for prints yet but I’ll keep y’all posted! This is one of my favorite series that I’ve finished in recent years and I’m v excited to share these drawings with you all 😘 . . If you are interested in potentially purchasing work, please be sure to sign up to receive the digital show preview via Antler’s website. (Scroll to the bottom of antlerpdx.com and enter your email into the “Preview List” box to subscribe.) . . If you are outside of Portland or are staying safe at home, you can join @antlerpdx for a virtual opening reception and gallery walk through on IGTV on Thursday the 25th at 6pm PST, stay tuned for details! You will be able to see the whole gallery space, including my work and work by @faisalwarsani in the front room. If you can’t make 6pm PST, not to fear, a recording of the walk-through will be available on the Antler Instagram page afterwards too! . . If you are in Portland, the Antler crew are offering a limited number of time slots for in-person viewings from 6m on Thursday the 25th. Groups of five or fewer, masks required and social distancing measures will be in place. (I will add a personal note that the folx running Antler gallery are precious, precious humans. Plz do not go to the gallery in person to see my work if there’s even a slight chance that you have been exposed. I’ll still be making drawings post-pandemic.) . . . I will also upload the whole series of drawings – with close-ups of all the details and narrative text explaining the species in each piece – to my website on Thursday the 25th.

A post shared by Zoe Keller Art (@zoekellerart) on

View this post on Instagram

My show with @antlerpdx is now less than a week away! 😱 It opens on Thursday, June 25th! Details for attending virtually and safely in person below. Here is a detail from one of two 34” x 43” drawings in the show, featuring Carolina Wrens incorporating a bit of shed Black Pine Snake skin into their nest. . If you are interested in potentially purchasing work, please be sure to sign up to receive the digital show preview via Antler’s website. (Scroll to the bottom of antlerpdx.com and enter your email into the “Preview List” box to subscribe.) . . If you are outside of Portland or are staying safe at home, you can join @antlerpdx for a virtual opening reception and gallery walk through on IGTV on Thursday the 25th at 6pm PST! You will be able to see the whole gallery space, including my work and work by @faisalwarsani in the front room. If you can’t make 6pm PST, not to fear, a recording of the walk-through will be available on the Antler Instagram page afterwards too! . . If you are in Portland, the Antler crew are offering a limited number of time slots for in-person viewings from 6m on Thursday the 25th. Groups of five or fewer, masks required and social distancing measures will be in place. (I will add a personal note that the folx running Antler gallery are precious, precious humans. Plz do not go to the gallery in person to see my work if there’s even a slight chance that you have been exposed. I’ll still be making drawings post-pandemic.) . . . I will also upload the whole series of drawings – with close-ups of all the details and narrative text explaining the species in each piece – to my website on Thursday the 25th.

A post shared by Zoe Keller Art (@zoekellerart) on

View this post on Instagram

My new series of drawings exploring at-risk snake species is debuting at @antlerpdx next week, on Thursday, June 25th! There will be a few ways to explore the show, described below. No plans for prints yet but I’ll keep y’all posted! This is one of my favorite series that I’ve finished in recent years and I’m v excited to share these drawings with you all 😘 . . If you are interested in potentially purchasing work, please be sure to sign up to receive the digital show preview via Antler’s website. (Scroll to the bottom of antlerpdx.com and enter your email into the “Preview List” box to subscribe.) . . If you are outside of Portland or are staying safe at home, you can join @antlerpdx for a virtual opening reception and gallery walk through on IGTV on Thursday the 25th! (Usually starts at 6pm PST, stay tuned for details!) You will be able to see the whole gallery space, including my work and work by @faisalwarsani in the front room. If you can’t make 6pm PST, not to fear, a recording of the walk-through will be available on the Antler Instagram page afterwards too! . . If you are in Portland, there will be a limited number of time slots for in-person viewings from 6m on Thursday the 25th. Groups of five or fewer, masks required and social distancing measures will be in place. (I will add a personal note that the folx running Antler gallery are precious, precious humans. Plz do not go to the gallery in person to see my work if there’s even a slight chance that you have been exposed. I’ll still be making drawings post-pandemic.) . . . I will also upload the whole series of drawings – with detailed close-ups and narrative text explaining the species in each piece – to my website on Thursday the 25th.

A post shared by Zoe Keller Art (@zoekellerart) on