Hey wild friends! 

I'll be sharing a sneak peek behind the process and concept of the Biscayne Heritage artwork created in collaboration with Biscayne National Park!

We will explore:

1) The ideation and inspiration phase 

2) The creation phase

3) The final artwork supporting conservation

 

Ideation and Inspiration: 

Jones Lagoon, Photographed by Blake Wheeler

Within sight of Miami, rests this natural gem that feels like a world away. Biscayne National Park protects a rare combination of critically endangered habitats that include dense mangrove forests, abundant seagrass-beds, lush tropical barrier islands, and vivid coral reefs!

 

 

Covering almost 173,000 acres on the Southeastern coast of Florida, over 95% of the park is underwater habitat filled with mangroves, corals, sponges, butterflies, sharks, sea turtles, and even sunken ships!

 

 

Thanks to the Biscayne National Park Institute, Blake and I had the opportunity to both experience the Mangrove paddle-board trip and the snorkel experience while visiting! If you can plan for a full day, I definitely recommend exploring both habitats!

 

 

We started the morning off at Jones Lagoon with a "Paddle Eco-Adventure" that began at 9 am and ended by noon! This ended up being our favorite place because there was so much micro-life to see in the mangrove nursery!

 

 

We paddled through the mangrove canopies catching glimpses of baby lemon sharks, black tips and nurse sharks, and even saw a speedy little sea turtle! As you paddle along, you will also notice the thousands of vividly patterned upside-down jellies gently swaying in the grass beds. The GoPro was a lifesaver here when it came to capturing reference material!

 

Creation: 

 

Once home, I began collecting my notes, research, and reference photos and creating rough drafts of the concept for the Biscayne Heritage piece.

 

 

After sketching, I transferred the files to my computer and continued further sketches in Adobe Photoshop with my Wacom tablet. Once happy with the sketch, I began layering using color blocking techniques and forming initial colors. I find digital to be a faster way to move through the art-making process because of its flexibility. 

 

 

When you look at this piece, I hope you feel pulled into the details of this beautiful watery world. A percent of each Limited Edition Artwork sold directly benefits Biscayne National Park's initiatives to restore the bay from harmful sewage leakage and support the protection of our shared home for the next generation to also enjoy! 

 

Final Artwork: 

 

After over 200 hours of screen time, this digital panoramic was completed in time for the exhibition at Biscayne National Park and Limited Edition prints are now available with custom framing! 

 

 Limited Edition Biscayne Heritage by artist Kelly Quinn

Explore the artwork by following the link below! A percent of everything goes back to Biscayne National Park to support their conservation efforts.

Explore:

• Limited Edition Prints:  https://kellyofthewild.com/products/biscayne-bay-heritage?variant=30326256173142

 

Cheers,
Kelly