Duck Stamp

In this project I made a painting of two northern shoveler ducks. I made this for the annual duck stamp competition. This had to fit certain size requirements of 9 by 12 inches, but it could be made using any media. I decided to use acrylic paint. In the painting I made a male and a female northern shoveler duck swimming on a pond with some trees and tall grass in the background. One principle of design I used in this piece was color. To use color, I chose acrylic paint which is bolder and brighter than most other materials. I then used different colors to blend the water and the reflections of the birds and grass to make it look realistic.

One composition rule and technique I used was soft focus. By using paint I knew I wouldn't be able to make the painting look precisely realistic so I blended the paint and used a little bit bigger, softer brush strokes. Another composition rule and technique I used was formal balance. I used formal balance by placing one duck on each side accordingly to use up most of the space and so the ducks wouldn't overlap each other or appear too close together. This project evolved over the time I was working with it. At first I was going to make some lily pads in the foreground but I decided it would look better with solid blue there. I also decided to darken the water as it was too light before.

This project relates to my life because I like ducks and birds. I like going canoeing and I like to see different types of them when I'm out on the water. I think this is important to my because it reminds me of the times my family goes camping, canoeing and fishing. If I could improve this piece I probably would've applied more detail to the duck on the right or make the reflections better, but I think that would be a difficult thing to do.