Artist Statement:

For this project, I wanted to emphasize the harmful human impact on wildlife through oil spills. Thousands of spills occur each year, impacting the environment and marine life. I decided to draw a pelican because they are a species that is heavily impacted, as the oil toxins can destroy the waterproofing in a pelican's feathers, causing the birds to die of hypothermia. 

For this project, I began with a pencil sketch on watercolor paper. I then went in with black gouache and pen for the background and pelican feathers. I used yellow and orange guaoche for the beak, white gel pen to bring out highlights, and vegetable oil mixed with black guaoche for the oil spill. 

I went though a few processes while completing this project. I began by researching some of the animals most impacted by oil spills, and decided on a pelican. From there, I researched various photos of pelicans in oil spils in order to make it look as realistic as possible. For the final touch in this project, I decided to use actual oil (vegetable oil) mixed with a small amount of black guaoche in order to connect my materials to my project to make it more impactful. I used a small brush to dab dots of oil, letting it run down the page to look as if it was dripping off of the pelican and into the water.