Duck Stamp

Artist's Statement:

For this project the goal was to make a scientifically accurate illustration of waterfowl native to north america. I chose to use a photograph of two canada geese that I had taken last spring, so that I could use the same composition and everything without fear of plagiarism. I mishmashed it with another photo I took to create the island however. 

For materials I wanted to have a certain level of detail, so I used pen, but I also wanted it to be loose and flowy, with a watery feel, which I think watercolor acomplished very well. I was lacking some highlights at the end, so I chose to add the extra bit of gel pen for that shine. I had the most trouble with retaining dedail with the watercolor, but in the end I was able to go in with a small brush and keep the small details.

The hardest part of this project was getting the proportions and colors right. I had done the math to transfer a grid from the 8 1/2 by 11 paper to the 9 by 12 paper, but it was still hard to follow it and maintain proportions. For the colors, I was working with a palette that already existed, and it was difficult to blend in other colors to get certain shades. for instance, I had no black, so I improvised using blue and brown.