Rebecca Jabs is an artist and freelance scientific illustrator based in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She began her professional career as a K-12 Art Teacher in Manitowoc before graduating in 2016 from the Science Illustration Graduate Program at California State University at Monterey Bay. She has had her work displayed in a variety of exhibitions including Illustrating Nature, her most recent solo exhibition. Illustrating Nature, on display in the Baer Gallery at St. Norbert College through March 12, 2021, features a collection of watercolor, gouache, and ink pieces which illustrate some of the flora and fauna of Wisconsin. Jabs explained that her journey as a naturalist was a recent one and stated that, “When we grow up in a place, we become so accustomed to it that we aren’t as amazed by it as we probably should be,” when speaking about her love of wildlife and nature in Wisconsin. Her favorite birds native to Wisconsin are the Caspian Tern and the American White Pelican; which she illustrated in her gouache and watercolor painting, American White Pelican, 2017. Many of her paintings in the exhibition in the Baer Gallery illustrate flower species in Wisconsin as well. Although Jabs was never really interested in illustrating botany originally, she has found a love for the shapes and how she could piece the plants together in a composition commenting on how she is, “very drawn to geometry and pattern in my artwork.” In fact, Monarda punctata is one of her favorite flowers and she used this plant to study flowers when she painted Monarda Puctata & Bombus spp., 2020. The project that Jabs is working on currently is a collaboration with Wisconsin naturalist, John Bates. He is working on a book about the last undeveloped lakes of Wisconsin, and Jabs is illustrating plant and animal species found in those habitats; some of which are included in her Illustrating Nature exhibition such as four watercolor paintings of turtle species. Jabs’ work for Illustrating Nature beautifully illustrates Wisconsin wildlife in a variety of ways; from scientific illustrations for research to personal projects which celebrate the amazing plants and animals found in the state.
American White Pelicans are present in increasing numbers in Wisconsin during the summer months. Birds of breeding age develop a nuptial tubercle, a ridge on the top of the bill, that falls off after breeding season, American White Pelicans often feed cooperatively in groups, forming a semi-circle to drive and concentrate fish within the shallows.
Monarda punctata, commonly known as Spotted Beebalm or Horsemint, can be found growing in sandy soil in Wisconsin. It is pollinated by a wide variety of insects including the many bumblebee species native to Wisconsin. Bombus species pictured: Tri-Colored, Rusty-Patched, Common Eastern, Brown-Belted, and Yellow-Banded Bumblebee.
This illustration is part of a current project with Wisconsin naturalist John Bates, to be included in his upcoming book on the last wild lakes of northern Wisconsin.
Observing the Common Loon at such a close range, white spots appear brilliant against the dense, absorbent black of its back. On such an encounter, I imagined the stars of the northern night sky woven into its wings.
The Greater Prairie-Chicken nearly disappeared from the Wisconsin landscape by the mid 20th century due to the loss of its native prairie habitat. The management program at the Buena Vista Grasslands, pioneered by the research of Frances and Fred Hamerstrom, sustains today’s population of this bird in our state. Each April, male prairie chickens gather at dawn on booming grounds. Their display includes drumming feet and the inflating of air sacs on the side of their throats. the scientific name, Tympanuchus cupido, aptly translates to “drummer of love.”
This painting was created for the Drawing Water artist-in-residence program at the UW-Madison Trout Lake Research Station near Boulder Junction, WI. Crystal Bog is one of the seven Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites at the Research Station. The acidic, low-nutrient conditions in a bog limit the plant life existing within the characteristic mats of Sphagnum Moss. Plants found at Crystal Bog include Leatherleaf, Bog Rosemary, Bog Laurel, Pitcher Plant, Roundleaf Sundew, Small Cranberry, and Labrador Tea.
St. Norbert College Art Galleries 