From classroom bees to museum murals: Lake County artist’s inspiring path

When Samantha Gallagher was in first grade, she vividly remembers a bee flying into her classroom, which sent her classmates into a frenzy.

She calmed them with the words her mom always told her: "Stay calm and the bee won't bother you." They listened to her advice.

That afternoon, the class wrote journal entries on a topic of their choice. "Everyone wrote about the bee," Gallagher recalled. She also wrote about the bee, embellishing her entry with her own drawings. As new writing assignments came and went, her classmates moved on to different topics.

"But I kept writing and drawing bees,” she said with a laugh. Her relentless focus earned her the nickname "the bee girl."

Her passion was clear. “Nothing could stop me. If I had a piece of paper, I was going to draw,” Gallagher said.

Growing up in a small Maryland town, she drew bees on large sheets of paper and wallpapered her bedroom with them.

“It's almost like I never really grew up, still drawing lots of bugs like when I was a kid,” she said.

Today, she has transformed her lifelong love for insects and drawing into a business.

The Lake County Forest Preserves commissioned Gallagher to create 11 cicada illustrations that make up a large part of the Dunn Museum’s special exhibition, “Celebrating Cicadas.” It runs through Aug. 4 at the Libertyville museum.

“I was astonished and humbled when I saw the exhibit,” she said, noting her surprise at seeing her work turned into expansive wall murals, coloring pages and an art gallery. Additionally, she worked on various other projects for the forest preserves, including illustrations of fish for a fishing guide and flowers to promote the Native Plant Sale.

The popular exhibition has garnered rave reviews from the public, said Museum Operations Manager Alicia Fullerton.

“Our talented Museum designers brilliantly integrated Samantha’s detailed illustrations into this exhibit, which explores a phenomenon that happens once every 17 years.”

“The Forest Preserves prioritize precise and accurate illustrations to enhance educational efforts,” said Jeanna Martinucci, communications and design manager. “This is why we selected Samantha.”

Gallagher earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and a master’s degree in entomology, the study of insects. Today, Gallagher seamlessly combines these fields in her work as a freelance scientific illustrator.

Her meticulous design process begins with consulting insect specimens and reference photos and visiting Lake County forest preserves to observe the insects in their natural habitats. Next, she creates a digital sketch, traces it onto paper and uses pastels and colored pencils to add color. Each illustration takes between eight and 20 hours to complete.

Gallagher and her husband are raising their daughter in Wadsworth where she has a bright home studio painted in a creamy pale yellow. She emphasizes that her art is grounded in science, insisting that her subjects must accurately represent their natural appearance.

"I aim for authenticity and texture," said the self-proclaimed perfectionist. “The Forest Preserves prioritize precise and accurate illustrations to enhance educational efforts,” said Jeanna Martinucci, communications and design manager. “This is why we selected Samantha.”

When Gallagher isn't creating artwork, she indulges in her passion for gardening. “I have a meadow in the front yard filled with native plants,” she shared. She also enjoys attending music events and taking walks in the forest preserves, finding inspiration and relaxation in nature.

It was the annual Hike Lake County fall walking program that first connected Gallagher’s work with the Forest Preserves. After receiving a commemorative medallion featuring an endangered rusty-patched bumble bee for completing the walking program, she reached out to the Forest Preserves about creating a future medallion. For her, working with the Forest Preserves would be "living the dream."

"I have always enjoyed walking in the forest preserves and thought, 'If I want to work anywhere, it’s at the Lake County Forest Preserves.' To me, the important work of the Forest Preserves, including carefully maintained open spaces in Lake County are equivalent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. They truly set the gold standard."

Gallagher was commissioned for several projects and recently learned that her cicada illustration will adorn the medallion for this year’s Hike Lake County.

She is engaged in multiple projects and is currently illustrating a book, tentatively titled “Bugwatching” by author Eric Eaton.

The artist believes the words “compassionate” and “creative” best describe her.

"It might not sound like the most imaginative way to describe an artist, but I think it captures who I am," she said.

See Samantha's illustrations: LCFPD.org/cicadas; LCFPD.org/native-plant-notecards; LCFPD.org/fishing-guide.

• Kim Mikus is the media and community relations specialist for the Lake County Forest Preserves. She writes a column about various aspects of the preserves. Contact her with ideas or questions at kmikuscroke@LCFPD.org. Connect with the Forest Preserves on social media @LCFPD.