Molly WellsMolly is a visual artist working mainly in acrylics, watercolour, pencil and pen & ink. Recently she has also been doing digital design and illustration.
Molly grew up in Penticton, BC and graduated from high school (honours - French Immersion) in 2018. She has recently completed her Bachelors of Science at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS where she has been her studying Marine Biology and Statistics. Her honours thesis explored the use of visual media in marine conservation outreach as well as in historical marine science. This past summer, 2022, Molly was selected by the Ocean Frontier Institute to be one of two Canadian students to be sponsored to take part in the One Ocean Expedition sailing aboard the Norwegian tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl from Valparaiso Chile to the South Pacific, from May until the end of August. In between pulling ropes and climbing in the rigging, she studied ocean sustainability and climate change on this historic vessel. She also kept a sketch journal which she is posting on Instagram @chiletopalau In second year Molly began creating scientific illustrations for use in lectures by Dalhousie’s Psychology department and she designed the cover for their new Introduction to Psychology & Neuroscience textbook. In 2020 she started working for Designs That Cell and is now a senior illustrator. This past year Molly has created several illustrations for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society including one used in a campaign to protect Owl's Head, Nova Scotia as a Provincial Park. Molly enjoys the way that scientific illustration bridges her love of art and science. In addition to art and science Molly also enjoys the outdoors. Molly spends part of every summer at Savary Island where she enjoys the ocean and is able to foster her keen interest in marine biology. She is also a former ski racer with the Apex Ski Club, and worked as their U12 race coach during her grade 12 year. Molly has received a number of awards in recognition of her artistic achievements over the years including the Penticton Arts Council’s Youth Art Award in 2017. |
painting in between dives in the Philippines, 2022
painting aboard the Statsraad Lehmkuhl, May 2022.
photo credit @lerusha_photography
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NANCY WITHERSPOON MEMORIAL SUMMER RESEARCH AWARD 2021
My research has been a bit unconventional, as I am a bit of an unconventional science student. Besides Marine Biology, my interests also include art, science illustration, and history, and I love to see how they inform each other. There has been a recent uptick in art-science collaborations for marine public outreach efforts, however many scientists remain unconvinced of the benefits of art. I firmly believe that the two can and should be used together- science means nothing if not communicated, and art has a special power to create excitement and wonder about the world around us. For my project, I set out to answer two different questions: how and why should marine scientists use art to communicate their research?
To answer the ‘how’, I looked at marine zoological illustration through history to explore how its purpose and approach has evolved over time. Scientists may think that art as science communication is a new thing, but this is not the case! I sifted through online libraries and museums to find examples of marine zoological illustration (drawings of marine life that had or have scientific value) from the time of Aristotle, the first marine biologist back in the 4th century BCE, all the way to the modern day. I looked at all sorts of visual media and its historical context: Roman mosaics from Pompeii, medieval illustrated manuscripts, the first printed books in the Renaissance, the first scientific journal during the Scientific Revolution, monographs and field sketches from the voyages of the 18th century, all the way to today, where art and photography are used together and in competition with each other. My report explored the evolution of marine science through the eyes of the illustrator, and how illustrations were used to popularize, explain, and dispute research throughout each major era.
The main takeaway I have learned so far is that there is no such thing as a purely objective eye. Our observations of the world (yes, even ‘precise’ instruments like photography) are always shaped by our worldview. This is an important thing to remember today, especially in a data-poor field like Marine Biology - we should always be critical of research and universal ‘truths’, and we can always learn from our predecessors!
My research has been a bit unconventional, as I am a bit of an unconventional science student. Besides Marine Biology, my interests also include art, science illustration, and history, and I love to see how they inform each other. There has been a recent uptick in art-science collaborations for marine public outreach efforts, however many scientists remain unconvinced of the benefits of art. I firmly believe that the two can and should be used together- science means nothing if not communicated, and art has a special power to create excitement and wonder about the world around us. For my project, I set out to answer two different questions: how and why should marine scientists use art to communicate their research?
To answer the ‘how’, I looked at marine zoological illustration through history to explore how its purpose and approach has evolved over time. Scientists may think that art as science communication is a new thing, but this is not the case! I sifted through online libraries and museums to find examples of marine zoological illustration (drawings of marine life that had or have scientific value) from the time of Aristotle, the first marine biologist back in the 4th century BCE, all the way to the modern day. I looked at all sorts of visual media and its historical context: Roman mosaics from Pompeii, medieval illustrated manuscripts, the first printed books in the Renaissance, the first scientific journal during the Scientific Revolution, monographs and field sketches from the voyages of the 18th century, all the way to today, where art and photography are used together and in competition with each other. My report explored the evolution of marine science through the eyes of the illustrator, and how illustrations were used to popularize, explain, and dispute research throughout each major era.
The main takeaway I have learned so far is that there is no such thing as a purely objective eye. Our observations of the world (yes, even ‘precise’ instruments like photography) are always shaped by our worldview. This is an important thing to remember today, especially in a data-poor field like Marine Biology - we should always be critical of research and universal ‘truths’, and we can always learn from our predecessors!
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For the second part of my project, I designed a survey to assess the impact of visual media as an outreach tool for marine conservation, to see how art can best be used to assist conservation efforts. Participants are asked to read and answer questions for three marine conservation articles, which are accompanied by either a photograph, an art piece, or a scientific illustration. I learned survey design and methodology while creating the survey, which underwent countless edits to ensure everything was clear and necessary. I researched and selected three recent marine conservation topics: reef shark conservation, ghost gear, and ocean noise pollution. I then created art pieces and technical illustrations to accompany the articles (which originally had photographs) through direct collaboration with the conservation researchers and non-profits involved. Once the survey was complete, I pilot tested and revised it some more, then wrote an ethics application to Dalhousie. I will hopefully start collecting responses in the fall. I hope that my research will clear up some of the hesitancies surrounding art-science collaborations and encourage others to pursue this exciting field!
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Some of the imagery I created, from left to right: a digital art piece for ocean noise pollution, an acrylic painting for reef shark conservation, and a scientific illustration for ghost gear cleanup. Please see the Science Illustration and Branching Out sections for other examples from my project!
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CURRICULUM VITAEshows, events & awards Molly has been an active member of the Penticton arts community for many years. In addition to being a past participant and volunteer with the young@art program at the Penticton Art Gallery, Molly has been involved with a number of other local art events. She was selected to participate in Tumbleweed Gallery's Budding Artists Youth Art Show in 2019, and has exhibited in the Penticton Art Gallery's Under $500 show many times, as well as at The Bench Market Cafe and at Ad Hoc in Penticton. In June 2019, Molly donated her painting, Naramata Bench to the Penticton Art Gallery's 42nd Annual Art Auction.
Molly has also exhibited in shows on each coast: in 2019 she participated in Persephone: Changing Seasons & Selves in Halifax and every summer she holds a solo Front Porch Art Show at Savary Island. The summer of 2021 Molly donated a beautiful painting of the beach at Duck Bay to the Savary Island Land Trust's online fundraising auction. April 2023 One Ocean Week art exhibition, Bergen, Norway July 10-24 2021 Savary Island Land Trust Online Auction November 6 2019 Persephone: Changing Seasons & Selves at the Laundry Room Art Gallery, University of King's College, Halifax June 27 2019 Penticton Art Gallery's 42nd Annual Art Auction June 20 - August 2019 Budding Artists Youth Art Exhibit at Tumbleweed Gallery December 2017 Kirsten Robertson + Molly Wells - a mother+daughter art exhibition at The Bench Market, Penticton December 2013-2017 Penticton Art Gallery Under $500 Show & Sale September 2014-2017 Penticton Art Gallery En Plein Air June 2017 Reflections: Annual High School Exhibition at the Penticton Art Gallery March 2017 recipient of the Penticton Arts Council Youth Art Award June 2015 The Evolution of Discovery: Annual High School Exhibition at the Penticton Art Gallery August 2015-2020 Art on the Front Porch show at Savary Island February 2013 art+wine show at Ad Hoc, Penticton 
Art on the Front Porch, Savary Island 2020
Penticton Art Gallery Under $500 Show, December 2016
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One Ocean Expedition sketch book journal exhibition during One Ocean Week at the UiB University Aula in Bergen, Norway
Duck Bay Beach Day 12x16"
donated to the Savary Island Land Trust's Online Auction July 10-24, 2021
mother & daughter show at The Bench, Penticton, December 2017
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