Artist Talon Cress on Blending Biology and Art

What happens when a scientist and an artist are the same person? In this episode of the Sibley Nature Center podcast, host Michael welcomes Talon Cress, a young artist and scientific illustrator whose current show is on view at the nature center. Talon graduated with a double major in organismal biology and art from UT Permian Basin, and he's spent the years since figuring out how to make those two passions inform each other rather than compete. He and Michael — who walked a strikingly similar path decades earlier — trade stories about the pull between the lab and the studio, and how each one keeps calling you back. Along the way, Talon opens up about the little handmade books he drew as a kid, the animal-behavior class that got him hooked on ants, the early juried show where a nod from artist Tina Fuentes changed how he saw himself, and the floor installation he designed for the revolving door at the Ellen Noel Art Museum. He also walks through the pieces in his Sibley show — landscapes, a tree diptych rendered in charcoal made from the tree itself, and Letting Go, an oversized sculpture of an eagle's foot that's a quiet tribute to the name his family gave him. It's a warm, unhurried conversation between two self-described "quiet guys" who let their art do the talking — about family, chronic illness, curiosity, and what it means to make things that are entirely your own. Talon's show is on view now at Sibley Nature Center — come see it in person. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome & meet Talon Cress 00:01:21 When art got serious 00:03:26 Childhood: homemade books & dinosaurs 00:06:33 A family that fostered the art 00:07:54 Studying organismal biology 00:09:59 Becoming a double major & an early award 00:12:16 The goal: scientific illustration 00:13:11 Science vs. art: finding the balance 00:15:11 Seeing anatomy as landscape 00:16:29 The Ellen Noel Art Museum floor installation 00:20:42 Looking ahead: staying creative 00:24:15 Choosing a specialty: the natural sciences 00:27:23 Inside the Sibley show: constraint vs. freedom 00:31:12 The reception, family & building a network 00:33:35 Michael's panels: "a professional did those" 00:35:42 Two quiet guys, and a shared struggle 00:38:47 "Letting Go" & the story behind his name 00:41:36 Kinship & goodbye