A bright flamingo bends low, curiously eyeing its next meal as gold metallic fronds rise in the background. A coyote in profile focuses intently, its coat a shifting palette of shadow and light, creating palpable textures of fur and form. A weasel playfully stands, head cocked with a mischievous eye; prints of metallic silver stems and flowers accentuate the background.

Known for detail-driven watercolor nature and animal portraits, Jennifer Nolan debuts her first solo show on Friday at Location Gallery. The profits will be donated to the Ossabaw Island Foundation through the end of August.

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Originally from New Jersey, Nolan moved to Savannah in the mid-1990s to study illustration at SCAD. As the industry became increasingly digital and computer-intensive, she remained focused on paint and brush in creating her art.

“I’ve always been a hands-on kind of person,” emphasized Nolan. “I enjoy mixing colors and feeling that on a paint brush as I apply it to a board or paper. The act of making art this way is very personal, and I get to experience the animal in a way that you just can’t in digital illustration. I’m always a little sad once I finish with a painting because I’ve had so much time to get to know and understand the subject.”

After graduating from SCAD, she and her husband moved to Atlanta where they lived for nearly 20 years and where she quickly became active in the city’s fine art community.

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Nolan consistently showed work in group and solo exhibitions in Atlanta and neighboring cities. Currently, she is represented in Savannah at Reynolds Gallery, the Swan Coach House Gallery in Atlanta, Downtown Gallery in Cartersville, and Salzmann Gallery in Marietta.

For her show at Location, gallery director Peter Roberts encouraged Nolan to explore species she may not have painted before.

“What I love about her work is that she always has this great balance of negative space in relation to the subject of the painting,” said Roberts. “This balance shows how she studies an animal, lets it breathe within the work, with each painting revealing the district personality of each individual. I really wanted Jen to have an opportunity to showcase her chops with all forms of the animal kingdom and urged her to do something she hadn’t done before or use a technique she’d not yet experimented with.”

Nolan accepted the challenge. She experimented with leaves and flowers from her garden and used them as background print elements.

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Her portrait of a honeybee is portal into some of the artist’s painstaking hours of research and experimentation. The bee hovers thoughtfully large on an 8 by 10 inch clay board where Nolan deftly employs line and color to create the insect’s realistic depths and cozy textures. But the creature’s most captivating feature is its large, brown eye glistening, reflecting levels of warm light.

“The portrait of the bee required lots of observation. To really get the eye right, I did hours of photographic research and then played with paint and color to convey it,” mused Nolan.

“I’m a non-traditional watercolor artist, working mostly on clay board where the application of paint is wildly different compared to paper. I can apply paint to a dry brush and then apply it to the board, and then depending on how I add water, I can build layers of paint with different transparencies. With the bee, I experimented with transparency and also used zinnia flowers as print objects. I pressed them in gold leaf, and then hand-printed them. With this painting I feel a special connection because I studied every bit of it so hard in its creation.”

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Now, back in Savannah just over three years with her husband and five children, Nolan feels blessed to finally call the Hostess City home. These days, her focus is creating meaningful, animal and nature-focused work. She wants to help create and be part of a world in which people see, experience, and consciously appreciate the beauty around them. Nolan considers her 24-piece show a way of doing just that.

“I love this town and having a solo show in the town I love is wonderful,” said Nolan.

“These last few years have been hard for everyone, and the day-to-day has a way of diminishing our experience of the beauty in the simple things. In the day-to-day, we forget to appreciate the glory of being. With this show, I hope to encourage people to pause, look more closely, and by taking in the small details, connect with the wonder that is all around us in nature. I hope this show inspires a sense of awe and gratitude in all who attend.”

What: “Walk, Run, Swim, Fly” by Jennifer Nolan

Where: Location Gallery, 251 Bull Street, Savannah

When: Opening reception is Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; running through August