CHOICES

My last entry focused on my criteria for which creature to choose next. As I mentioned, there’s how each will fit in with the growing series, a balance of representation from all categories, and critical status.  

News of the critical status of the Pangolin made my decision for me. 

The Pangolin (second from left) is the most illegally trafficked animal on the face of the Earth, poached and slaughtered for their scales. For the same reason rhinos are being hunted to extinction (magical powers assigned to another body part). Their scales, ironically, are used for protection in the wild, but attract lethal human predators from whom they have no protection. 

Eminent conservation biologist E.O. Wilson reminds us that climate change is only one of three crises humanity is facing in this century and only global mass species extinction is irreversible.

TECHNIQUE

When I started off, my first question was how to render the scales? As I studied them, they looked to me like hardened feathers. I realized, they could be approached as I would angel’s wings in traditional iconography.

Drawing from my training in traditional iconography, each separate stage in creating an icon represents a different aspect of being: physical, psychic and spirit. These are attributes traditionally reserved for human beings. What if we viewed animals as endowed with the same qualities? 

Applying linseed oil sealant to the Pangolin icon