Why choose animals?

The reason I chose animals for my topic is that I have always had a love for them and thought this would be the perfect opportunity for me to do more in-depth research on them and the causes of some becoming endangered today and how we are a big contributing factor. I wanted to look into endangered animals because I feel a greater sense of connection to them and their vulnerability to the circumstances they are put in. And with my research, I ultimately want to be able to create a piece of artwork of a subject I enjoy creating as well as help in bringing more awareness to the species and their vulnerability.

Assignment 3C- Midterm Critique

Where my project started:

-Their appearances
Looking back at my wandering through the internet assignment, I started out simply looking at animal appearances and the variety of colours and texture which can be found within each species. I was interested in researching why certain animals have specific colours. In researching this I found some reasons can either be for protection as a kind of camouflage against predators or as warning signals that the animals may be poisonous. During my early research, I also found it interesting when learning the reasoning as to why animals have different types of skin and textures, for example, some having fur while others have quills or scales.

-Their relationships
At the beginning of my research, I was also interested in learning about the relationships which animals have to one another as well as to us as humans. I took the time to research the symbiotic relationships that species have with one another and thought about how our relationships with animals are similar to this. When reading about parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism, it made me think about how our relationship as humans to animals can be compared to a parasitic relationship between two species. This can be understood in the way that humans are starting to take away from the animals, ultimately benefiting from them without giving them anything in return. While researching this it got me thinking about how the relationships between animals and humans should be one that is equal, rather than only humans benefitting from the animals.

Mid-way through my research:

-Animals evolving through the passage of time
As I continued my research, I became interested in how some species' appearances have changed throughout either hundreds of years or even just recently. In my research, I learned about the drastic appearance changes of the horses from 50 million years ago to now. I also looked into the more subtle changes of animals, for example, various dog breeds such as German Shepherds or Bull Terriers.

What my research looks like now:

When looking into how certain species have changed throughout time I wanted to see if I could connect this topic back to my previous interests of our relationships to animals, seeing if species have had to evolve and change due to their changing environments. When looking into this idea I was able to find information about the Tawny Owl and how they have had to evolve their appearance due to their changing environments as a result of climate change.

While researching the Tawny Owl I learned that the owls can be found in woods and forests all across Europe and can either be grey or brown in colour, although due to climate change having an impact on their changing habitats it is resulting in an increase in brown owls. Although the Tawny Owl is not endangered, climate change is still having a large impact on them and could potentially lead to the species becoming endangered if things do not change.

Questions I asked throughout my research:

-How can I combine my love for animals along with bringing attention to the ones that are vulnerable in my artwork.

-What animals do I want to incorporate into my piece of artwork?

-What medium is best suitable for my topics and ideas that I have been researching?

For my actual project, I want to tie in my topic of animals and their environments by using earthly materials such as wood and leaves and creating imprints with them in an acrylic painting of a Tawny Owl. Along with the imprints of the earthly materials, I have been thinking of also incorporating finger imprints to further emphasize the human aspects of why their environments are changing. For my project, I want to create an acrylic painting that displays the exposed, vulnerable owl in its habitat along with the things which make up the environment it lives in, such as trees, grass, leaves, etc.

Material Testing

Project idea

Questions

Should I incorporate fingerprints into my project?

Is my idea/Sketch for my project too busy?

What I plan to do with the project

Questions i asked throughout my research

Looking at animals the relationships we share with them