Shirley McCauley, board member of the Butler Arts Center, hangs a picture of a bull elk taken by Dan Gomola of Renfrew in preparation of the center's art exhibit scheduled for Oct. 2.

Visitors to the Butler Art Center will find themselves surrounded with nature and wildlife, despite being indoors throughout October.

The center is having its annual nature and wildlife exhibit throughout the month, and 26 artists have submitted photography, oil paintings, pastel paintings, watercolor paintings, acrylic paintings, forged steel and digital artwork depicting the theme.

“(The nature exhibit) is a member favorite, as well as a favorite of the public,” exhibit director of the Butler Art Center Christy Culp said in an email. “Our parks, farmlands and even the wildlife in the city limits provide us with much inspiration.”

According to Culp, nature and wildlife is a theme displayed in the art center annually, and the artists who participate are always enthusiastic about submitting their work.

“I think the most fun part is trying to bring it to life,” said Brad Page, an oil painter and board member at the art center. “When people look from a distance at a painting and ask, 'Is this a photograph?' I really enjoy that.”

Sue Baechtel, an acrylic painter from Clearfield Township, has submitted to this exhibit for the past five years. She said she always likes painting animals, especially horses, and she has been on an “antler kick” recently, and has submitted several paintings of horned animals this year. This exhibit in particular is a favorite of hers, as well as many who come to view it.

“This is one of their best shows of the year, one of their best for representing artists,” Baechtel said. “It's a little gem, really.”

To bring animal paintings to life, artists either use copyright-free photos found online, or use photos they have captured themselves.

Darla Clovicko, an acrylic painter from Winfield Township, said she has taken photos of animals, including raccoons, to be subjects of her paintings. She said to make an animal stand out in a painting, an artist has to look closely and depict small details that would only be noticed if they were out of place.

“It's super nice to be able to go out and take a picture and make a painting out of it,” she said. “You've got to sit there and study it — which way is the hair growing? You have to look at a lot of different pictures. There is a little bit that goes into it.”

While the process of painting a subject like an animal can be long and arduous, many artists find it rewarding, especially after seeing the end result.

“Painting for creative people is not a hobby,” Baechtel said. “You have to do it because it is a part of you, and if you don't you are diminished.”

Instead of having an art crawl to kick off the exhibit as initially planned, the center will have an opening coffee reception from 10 a.m. to noon and an evening reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 2, which will both be free and open to the public.

Culp said the quality of the art that will be featured in the exhibit is a testament to the artists, and the inspiration they took from local nature sites.

“Many artists are drawn to nature, plying their skills to recreate the beauty and serenity of nature,” Culp said. “In Butler County, we are lucky to be surrounded by so much nature.”

The nature and wildlife exhibit will be displayed at the Butler Art Center from Oct. 2 until Oct. 31.

Page said visitors to the art center during the month will likely be pleasantly surprised by the number of interpretations displayed around the simple theme of nature and wildlife.

“There are a lot of different directions you can go,” he said.