The Canyon Squawfish

 watercolor color pencil, 9" x 20", paper

"The Canyon Squawfish" is a piece I did for the 2015 Endangered Species Day Art Contest. It features a Colorado Pikeminnow, a Razorback Sucker, a Humpback and Bonytail Chub, as well as an invasive Channel Catfish. Although the main focus (the pikeminnow) is a rather drab animal, I made it stand out by using a lot of heavy contrast, plus a bright blue sky and orange cliffs. I also used a touch of water in the water and the sky, as I was using watercolor pencil, to create a different effect than just regular pencil. Last year, I was grand-prize runner-up for this contest, looking for the grand prize this year!