If you follow biodiversity discourse in India, chances are you’ve already heard of Green Humour (@greenhumour)—the comic handle run by artist Rohan Chakravarty that uses comedy and simple storytelling to educate scores of Indians about policy, ecosystems, and contemporary environmental issues. If asked to name artists beyond GreenHumour though, most conversations end in silence. It’s likely because we tend to not look up nature-oriented accounts except for screensaver material—they’re often deemed monotonous or repetitive. Well, we’re here to tell you that that’s far from the truth. 

Below, we’ve gathered eight artists who are making waves online for their stellar artwork. Some of them directly talk about biodiversity, or make traditional paintings that make you stop in your tracks. Others breathe new life into perceivably dry topics using humour, silliness and a sense of wonder. We’ve seen that it’s often these indirect approaches that help people get interested in, absorb, and share the importance of protecting nature. If there’s anyone particularly captivating we missed, do let us know in the comments below: 

Joshua Barkman (@falseknees), Canada

Best known for existential watercolour comics featuring birds. Barkman’s the darkly funny side of Canada that you don’t get to hear about. 

 

 

 

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Let’s be real, even seeds are pretty cute. #oldknees #cute #throwbackthfriday

A post shared by False Knees (@falseknees) on Jul 12, 2019 at 2:45pm PDT

 

 

 

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Aren’t we all ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂœ #ant #lilac #antimony #literally #relatively #bigdeal

A post shared by False Knees (@falseknees) on Jul 5, 2019 at 9:47am PDT

Alisha Dutt Islam (@alishaduttislam), India

Botanical illustrator extraordinaire, with delicate and detailed drawings of plants, blooms and insects. We want framed prints, asap. 

 

 

 

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On my way from Reilling to Darjeeling I noticed patches of mountains vegetation just shaved off for construction. Our ecosystems are all linked deforestation leads to an imbalance in the monsoon cycle. As we compromise a sustainable future through unplanned urbanisation, we witness it's result through a catastrophe such as the Chennai water crisis. We heat up the earth more with our air conditioners, cars, electronic devices and just our existence, we are not being able to counter balance the action. The earth will live on and rebuild itself, we are the ones who will perish. #climatechange #deforestation #darjeeling #chennaiwatercrisis . . . . #art #illustration #botanical #bodypositive #indianillustrator #artfido #sketch #handdrawn #digitalart #womenwithpencils #illustrationartists #inkfeature #sketchbook #designspiration #indianillustrator #artistsoninstagram @womenofillustration @womenwithpencils

A post shared by âÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¾ Alisha Dutt Islam âÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¾ (@alishaduttislam) on Jun 26, 2019 at 12:13am PDT

 

 

 

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Kair . . . Illustations for @pradipkrishen Abha Mahal Bagh : A garden of Wild Plants from the Thar Desert . . . . . . . . . #illustration #art #illustrationartists #illustrator #artanddesign #artistsoninstagram #patterns #digitalillustration #digitalart #kommuneo #instaart #indian #plantsofinstagram #lesstalkmoreillustration #artsxdesign #desertplantsðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂŒµ #illustratorsoninstagram #inkfeature #itsnicethat #picame #artist #indianillustrator #blackandwhite #botanical #trees #botanicalartists #insects #instaart #instadaily

A post shared by âÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¾ Alisha Dutt Islam âÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¾ (@alishaduttislam) on Mar 28, 2019 at 6:45am PDT

Brian Fritz (@brianleefritz), USA

Artist specialising in acrylic, watercolour, ink portraits of birds. Chickens have never looked so interesting!

 

 

 

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Rufous Hummingbird (I think) Throwback I did this one years ago with a student as part of a class, but she wasn’t able to make it to all the classes and I was left with a half finished painting. She’s a friend of mine, so I finished up the painting and gave it to her lol #hummingbird #rufoushummingbird #bird #birds #birdart #throwback #tbt #natureart #wildlifeart #nature #wildlife #throwbackthursday #etsymaker #artshare #worldofartists #artofinsta #artsharing #artist_sharing #birdpainting #ilovebirds #birdillustration #birdportrait #shophandmade #etsysellersofinstagram #etsyshop #etsyseller #artistsofinstagram #detroit #michiganartist #acrylic

A post shared by Brian Fritz | Artist (@brianleefritz) on Aug 22, 2019 at 4:10am PDT

 

 

 

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Chicken Portrait A sketch in gouache for a painting I’m going to start this weekend. #chicken #rooster #bird #hen #birdart #etsy #artistsoninstagram #natureart #wildlifeart #nature #wildlife #bird #beach #artshare #worldofartists #artofinsta #artsharing #artist_sharing #birdpainting #ilovebirds #birdillustration #birdportrait #shophandmade #etsysellersofinstagram #etsyshop #etsyseller #artistsofinstagram #detroit #michiganartist #gouache

A post shared by Brian Fritz | Artist (@brianleefritz) on Aug 2, 2019 at 4:02am PDT

Angie Connell (@oddballtails), Australia

Our first foray into the world of embroidered pet portraits. We doubt any other gift could ever top these. P.S: While this list’s supposed to stick to Instagram, you have to visit her astoundingly endearing website.

 

 

 

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And he's done ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂ’• The Black Rhino is the lastest to join the # animalproblem series because well... they have a shit ton of problems... mostly humans 🙄 . . . . . #embroidery #handmadegifts #needlepainting #handembroidery #craftsposure #needlework #needlecraft#modernembroiderymovement #modernembroidery #broderie #embroideryart #threadpainting #contemporaryembroidery #hoopart #embroiderymagazine #dmcthreads #dmcembroidery #nicegirlsneedleclub #besthandmadeembroidery @best_hand_made_embroidery #embroideryinstaguild #damngoodstitch @damngoodstitch @_mylittleneedle_ #mylittleneedle @textileoftheday #embroideredpet #petembroidery #petart #petportrait #blackrhino #animalartists #animalartistry #creative_animalart

A post shared by Pet Portrait Artist (@oddballtails) on Apr 2, 2019 at 2:00am PDT

 

 

 

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This weirdo is almost 6!!! 😯😯😯 #embroidery #handmadegifts #needlepainting #handembroidery #craftsposure #needlework #needlecraft#modernembroiderymovement #modernembroidery #broderie #embroideryart #threadpainting #contemporaryembroidery #hoopart #embroiderymagazine #dmcthreads #dmcembroidery #nicegirlsneedleclub #besthandmadeembroidery @best_hand_made_embroidery #embroideryinstaguild #damngoodstitch @damngoodstitch @_mylittleneedle_ #mylittleneedle @textileoftheday #embroideredpet #petembroidery #petart #petportrait #rabbit #bunnyportrait

A post shared by Pet Portrait Artist (@oddballtails) on Jan 20, 2019 at 1:01am PST

Kenneth Chin (@canlaken), Singapore

Classic watercolours and digital art featuring lesser-known marine and terrestrial species.

 

 

 

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The full picture of SeaOne painting. The scan cost 40 dollars itself lol so expensive because of the large size, between A1 and A2. Then i had to spend some time cleaning it up, thats why u dont see much mistakes here. Done with ink and posterpaints. Will do this again in the future with new animals!! #posterpaint #illustrationpainting #illust #illustrator #inkart #inking #inked #painting #gobigorgohome #arting #design #アト

A post shared by Kenneth Chin (@canlaken) on Aug 15, 2015 at 9:43pm PDT

 

 

 

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Meet my little Singapore family! :) Sandra, Sunda Pangolin Arthur, Smooth Otter and their friends, Louis (Slow Loris), Connie (Colugo), Cloudie (Clouded Leopard), Walter (Malayan Water Monitor), Dracos, the Queen (Malayan Tiger), Electric (Blue Coral Snake) and others yet to be named :) I have tried coloring them but I'm really bad at digital art so let me practice more okay :D

A post shared by Kenneth Chin (@canlaken) on Nov 7, 2018 at 5:40am PST

Emillie Ferris (@emillieferris), UK

Quirky embroidery art with a penchant for butterflies, moths and woodland creatures. Oh, and there’s dogs everywhere. 

 

 

 

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âÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¨25% OFF SALE âÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¨ Hi friends! So, It’s my 25th Birthday tomorrow and I wanted to share some birthday spirit with all of you, so please enjoy 25% off all of my embroidery patterns in my Etsy shop until the 26th August ☺ï¸Â even the bundles are on sale, so you get a double bargain! ðŸÂÂÂÂÂ’•âÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¨ All of my pattern tutorials are written with beginners in mind, though some embroidery experience is of course beneficial, that includes any cross stitch experience ☺ï¸Â I always love to hear if anyone else is having a birthday this weekend too, and let me know what you get up to in the comments 😘 My sister is coming up to visit, so I think we will be visiting some places near me and eating lots of tasty food âÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¨Happy stitching guys and have a lovely weekend 😘 lots of love to you all

A post shared by âÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¨ Hand Embroidery by Emillie âÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¨ (@emillieferris) on Aug 22, 2019 at 8:32am PDT

 

 

 

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It’s been raining HEAVILY here in England today! So here’s an iPhone pic from last week where I got to embroider outside for the first time this year ❤ï¸ÂðŸ˜ÂÂÂÂÂÂŒðŸ‘ÂÂÂÂÂŒ🏻🐝ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂŒ¿ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂŒ¸â˜€ï¸Â I’m also going to be launching something super exciting and new very soon in my Etsy shop!! Eeeeek!!!

A post shared by âÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¨ Hand Embroidery by Emillie âÂÂÂÂÂÂœ¨ (@emillieferris) on Apr 25, 2018 at 9:03am PDT

Nina Haiko (@nina.haiko), Finland

An illustrator, artist and pattern designer exploring the human connection with nature. We don’t know about you, but if we’re ever writing a children’s book, Nina will be our go-to person for a touch of whimsy.

 

 

 

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ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂŒ¿ Me and my cute assistant, at home ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂŒ¿ (during a storm, ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂŒ¿ in our safe haven made of Ficus Lyratas ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂŒ¿) • This week we have had a storm with hails the size of a golfball, fierce thunder and rain sinking cars in the city center. So staying inside is suddenly a good idea. We have a reading nook that is surrounded by tall Ficus Lyratas, we felt safe there ðŸÂÂÂÂÂ’— • Also day 90 of #ninas100daysoflove • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • #ninahaiko #ficuslyrata #crazyplantlady #livingwithplants #paintyourlife #selfportrait #kuvittaja #kuvitus #lehtikuvitus #girlswithplants #editorialillustration #magazineillustration #homeillustration #kotona #petillustration #dogillustration #illustration #illustrationart #illustratorlife #100dayproject2019 #the100dayproject2019 #100dayproject #100daychallenge #creativechallenge #doitfortheprocess

A post shared by Nina Haiko (@nina.haiko) on Jul 4, 2019 at 4:17am PDT

 

 

 

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Yesterday’s vote results were that this kitty got 70% of the votes. Look how touched she is ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂ’ÂÂÂÂÂÂœ • Thank you everyone for voting! As a color scale this muted blue was a new experiment for me and feels so nice to get support for it ðŸÂÂÂÂÂÂ’ÂÂÂÂÂÂœ Some of you already noticed that my cute assistant 🐶 is a part of the picture as well - the text said ”the prettiest little dog in the world”, so naturally I had to paint her in on it 🖤 • Happy Caturday! 😽 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • #ninahaiko #thewhitecat #catart for #makeartthatsells by #lillarogers #matsA #matsbootcamp #catillustration #catart #narrativeart #folkart #happycaturday #illustratorlife #cardillustration #picturebookart #picturebookillustration #kidlitartist #kidlitillustration #childrensbookillustration #animalillustration #illustratedanimals #childrenbookart #illustrationartist #kuvittaja #kuvitus #kissa #catsandflowers #catsoninsta #whimsicalart #creativeinspiration #doitfortheprocess

A post shared by Nina Haiko (@nina.haiko) on May 4, 2019 at 7:04am PDT

Zoltán Boros (@zoltan.borosart), Hungary

Dynamic artwork of animals in their natural habitat. Boros’ mastery of light and shadow in his monochrome paintings, is jaw-droppingly good. 

 

 

 

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#animalart #animalartistry #animalartwork #wildlifeart #wildlifeartist #wildlifeartists #wildlifeartwork #vadászat #jagdmaler #jagdmalerei #steinbock #steinwild #borosart #borosartwork #borosartcollection #hegyivadaszat

A post shared by Zoltán Boros (@zoltan.borosart) on May 27, 2019 at 11:21pm PDT

 

 

 

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#animalart #animalartists #animalartistry #animalartwork #wildlifeart #wildlifeartist #wildlifeartwork #vadászat #wildlife #wildlifeartgallery #wildlifeartistry #wildlifearts #woodcock #woodcockhunting #szalonka #jagdmaler #jagdmalerei #waldschnepfe

A post shared by Zoltán Boros (@zoltan.borosart) on Feb 14, 2019 at 11:21pm PST

For an account that is seriously oriented towards nature conservation and research, try Current Conservation. With their frequent artist features, it’s also an excellent pool of talent to keep revisiting.