Squiggle Drawing

Artist Statement:

Each student was randomly given a squiggle that another student had created, we (as students) were assigned to use the squiggle as part of a composition. Despite having some trepidations about the squiggle received, after turning it around a few times I came up with a cohesive plan for my piece: a beaked animal of some sort (perhaps a pelican) with butterfly wings and a large pot-belly. To begin I used a pencil to outline the details within the shape the squiggle made, I decided then that the animal would be a pelican, with something in its beak, as the pelicans trademark pouch is only exposed it the pelican has something in its mouth (which I discovered after some research). After the sketching process I moved on to color, initially using markers I decided to switch to prismacolor colored pencils once I had brought the piece home. This was for two reasons, first I had a wider range of colors available to me if I used colored pencils, and secondly I could achieve better color within the butterfly wings and beak, making those two features pop. Finally I used a Posca paint marker for odds and ends, such as emphasising the feathers on the wings. At first I had planned to have a fish in the pelican's mouth, but as the piece evolved, and the character I was creating started to form, I realized that by placing trash within the pelicans mouth, I could create a more thought-provoking piece.

In my composition I tried, but perhaps failed, to emphasize the natural pieces of the bird by choosing to color them the most vibrantly, thus juxtaposing the trash and other man-made objects within the composition, with the natural ones. I also used color to create emphasis between the solid black of the wing and details on the wing. In addition I used value to create a shine on the beer can that the Pelican was holding, and to make the pelican seem more 3-dimensional I shaded the edges of its back.

The meaning of the piece changed as the drawing did, at first I intended the piece to be pure silliness, without a real message or meaning, but, as I did research and thought about it, I realized that this piece could really provoke thought and have a message. I tried to create an environmental message through the placement of the trash within the pelican’s mouth. This, combined with the beer-belly, strange slippers, and the butterfly wings provided a bizarre image of a corrupted animal, an all too familiar sign of the pollution that encompasses the Earth.