"The Lesser-Known Ones"
by Sherlann Lewandowski
Columbus State Community College, Library, 2nd floor
November, 2019
Artist Statement
The goal for my art is to educate about the amazing variety of life on this planet especially lesser known endangered or threatened species. Ever since I can remember I’ve always been fascinated about animals that aren’t as known in American popular culture. I discover new animals every day through books, museums, and documentaries while still finding a sense of wonder about each one. I hope others will also get a spark of interest and admiration for these animals when they see my work.
Information that I use about endangered and threatened species is from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN Red List is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. This organization also documents the conservation status of fungi and plant species. www.iucnredlist.org
To view more of my art you may follow me on Instagram at @sherlannl
Who's scheduled to exhibit art in the library 2019:
January - OPEN
Mid - February through March - Steven Riggs - "Oils, Graphite, & Portraits"
April - Vern Lewis - "Appropriating Nature, Religion and Surrealism"
May - Philip Sarsany - "The Quest: A Journey of Discovery Through Textiles"
June - "Colorful Columbus: Mark Fohl and the Westbridge Camera Club"
July - Michael A. Cooley: "Classical Drawings and Paintings"
August - W. C. Hemming - Acrylic Paintings
September - OPEN
October - Cecilia Román - "Reflection: Stream of Consciousness"
November - Sherlann Lewandowski - "The Lesser-Known Ones"
December - Hillary Jones
Click on the pdf file below to view this exhibition!
An explanation of my art process --
Creating my work isn’t always consistent, but it always starts with an pencil and a sketchbook. Sometimes I’ll do a thumbnail sketch of a composition but usually I figure out the flow as I go. This creates many pieces on different parts of a page or other pieces of paper. Once the pencil drawing is done I’ll ink the lines with different sized ink pens. Then I’ll scan everything to be put into Photoshop. This is how I clean up the sketches and assemble the pieces together. If needed, I can also change the size of my drawings. I’ll also use the program’s brushes to add digitally drawn parts and make touchups to the hand drawing. These brushes are designed to simulate the ink pen so that I can blend traditional and digital to look like one medium. When using color I always use Photoshop since I can pick the exact colors I want and save the palettes easily. I can quickly test many color palettes in this program. When creating patterns I usually hand draw everything, but sometimes I use Photoshop’s reflecting tool to create a mirrored copy of half a pattern. However, I prefer the loose imperfect look when I draw the whole pattern. For pattern and composition inspiration I frequently refer to textiles, manuscripts, and decorative arts and design (for example furniture and jewelry.) When drawing animals I also use animal documentaries, books, taxidermy, and wildlife photographers as reference. Whenever I go to a museum or zoo I sketch and take photos that I can refer to later.
