Being primarily a realist wildlife painter, I generally work from photographic reference to capture a moment in time. With this challenge, I was inspired by the provided objects to capture a surrealistic moment of chaos and the importance of conservation.

To start this piece, I used the provided objects to lay out a composition, then let the story unfold as I started adding colour. The plant ring, being the largest and most intimidating item became the focal point and was used to stamp out the shape of the wrecking ball. I used the washi tape to mask out some hard edges, pipe cleaners were used to define the trees, and the bath sponge was deconstructed to stencil out the rocks in the foreground. Once the scene was set, I used traditional painting methods to add the city scape in the background and the reflection in the wrecking ball, finishing this with a touch of glitter.

Artist Bio:

Growing up in rural Alberta, Shauna’s love for art was born in a small, farmhouse studio. Through the years, she worked in a variety of media including graphite, pen & ink, coloured pencil, scratchboard, watercolour, pastel and oils. A lot was gained in that studio, but likely the most important lesson was that when it comes to art, “can’t” is a forbidden word.

In her pursuit of an education and career, Shauna moved around Alberta and British Columbia, before finally settling with her husband in Abbotsford in 2017. During this time, she picked up some new media including pyrography and acrylics. Creating in her basement studio, Shauna
is influenced by nature & wildlife to capture a unique character in each of her works.

Instagram: @shaunjohnart