I had the idea for “Cross Section of Cane Creek” while fishing with my mom at the creek near our house.

 

I’ve always been interested in nature and ecosystems and how everything in nature all seamlessly works together. In this piece, I wanted to show three different levels of the creek coming together as one complete area. The way I see it, the creek isn’t just the water, just the plants, or just the fish; it’s all of it, even down to what’s buried beneath the creek bed.

 

Visually, this piece has more of a children’s book aesthetic to it. I wanted to explore illustrating a complex scene with simple, organic shapes and flat colors that are still recognizable to the viewer. Elements such as the log, hill, and curved body of the fish are intentional, implied diagonal lines that help lead the viewer’s eye around the piece.

 

In choosing colors, each layer needed to feel distinct. Choosing bright, saturated colors made sense for the top, since it is the layer most exposed to sunlight. Muted tones were used for the middle layer to give it an underwater feel. And in the bottom layer, different shades of brown show the color variation in sediment as it moves deeper underground.

 

This exploratory piece has become the basis for a small body of work about my hometown.

See a couple detail shots below