Caroline Parakeets - John James Audobon

Mission

Science Finds Art promotes the creation and use of high quality, scientifically accurate illustration to support and further the communication of scientific ideas.

In a time when scientific illustrators struggle to find work, we’ve found that scientists also struggle to find talented artists to create images for them. SFA helps repair the deteriorating relationship between artists and scientists to the benefit of all.

FAQ

What exactly is Science Finds Art?

Science Finds Art (SFA) is an organization that supports artists in the field of scientific illustration and encourages art + science collaboration. SFA operates a portfolio website to improve artist discoverability and drives a number of additional projects to support connections between artists, scientists, and science communicators. We also host a growing platform, Brush Up, to provide resources for budding scientific illustrators.

Where are you headed?

We hope to become the institution in scientific illustration’s corner. By supporting collaboration between artists, scientists, and science communicators through model contracts, payment negotiation, advocacy, and educational resources & events, we want to make quality illustration a mainstay of good scientific communication.

What makes sciencefindsart.com different from other portfolio sites?

SFA is promoted specifically to communities and institutions that engage in scientific research and communication. Some of the things that make it easier for these kind of clients to find your work:

• we tag everything with scientific names and higher taxonomy in addition to common names - this makes searching more user-friendly for a scientific audience

• we work with potential clients that come to us with projects to help them identify artists on the site that might fit their needs

• we actively promote the site among science research and communication communities

• we are dedicated to seeing our artists receive fair compensation for their work

• we are open to feedback and engagement from our community

• the website is completely free to use!
  

Who owns the images on sciencefindsart.com?

All the artists on SFA retain the rights to their images. SFA, and visitors to the site, do NOT have permission to use images for any purpose without express permission from the artists

Why was my portfolio rejected?

Our standard for the quality of portfolios on SFA is very high. This not to be exclusionary, but to maintain the reputation of the site and establish it as the go-to place to find professional scientific illustrators.

However, it is very important to us that SFA is also a community that fosters growth and opportunity for emerging artists. We are hard at work developing a way to feature work by early-career artists that may not have a large enough portfolio for the site. Additionally, we provide affordable resources to developing artists through our Brush Up platform. Please do not be discouraged if your portfolio isn’t accepted - you can re-submit your portfolio at any time.

Founding Team

Madison Erin Mayfield - Director of Outreach & Communications

Madison is the magic behind SFA’s social media presence. She and Elissa led the first illustration workshop at the SPNHC 2019 Conference in Chicago, IL - where SFA was officially launched.