Duck Stamp

Artist Statement: 

Once again, we had to create a piece of art for the Maine Junior Duck Stamp competition. For my species of bird, I chose the Canada Goose. For my reference photo, I used a personal reference photo of a flock of Canada Geese which I captured over the summer. 

For materials, I used primarily charchoal and charcoal pastel. This was useful in making the background soft in appearance, but was also difficult for sharpening my subjects (the geese). Then, I used white acrylic paint to brighten up areas that were dirtied by the charcoal. 

At first, I attempted to use watercolor paint. However, I found that it wasn't working for me. So, I went over the watercolor which charcoal pastels, which gave me the desired, soft look for my background. Then, with several layers, I built up the design for the geese, and afterwards, the water as well. Then, I went over all of the whiter areas with white acrylic paint to fix some charcoal smudges. Finally, I attempted to sharpen some of the edges, and added in some reeds to the foreground.