Duck Stamp

Artist Statement

The main idea that guided this work was painting a duck or swan from the certain species we are allowed to do for the duck stamp competition. With this work, I was trying to figure out which duck/swan interested me most and what environment I wanted to show it in. I chose to do a Tundra Swan because I liked the contrast between the white feathers and the dark beak. With this work, I was trying to show the Swan's habitat which is the arctic. I wanted to show the cool temperatures by using cool colors like blues and grays.

This work was made with acrylic paint on canvas paper. I first started with graphite to sketch boxes into the paper because I wanted to use the gridding method. I then sketched the background using a reference image of the arctic. I then sketch the actual swan over the background using a separate reference image. I then used acrylic paints to paint each box separately to focus on the little details and did that every box using multiple reference images to make layers.

The process of creating this work started with deciding where on the canvas I wanted to place the swan. At first, I planned on putting it front and center but then decided to place it a bit to the left side because I didn't want it to be symmetrical. This is because reality isn't always symmetrical and I wanted to add the element of realism to the painting. I painted the ocean in a light blue and then went over that and added layers of darker blues to show the texture of the water. I then used an almost white-blue to add highlights to show breaks in the water.