Vernal Pool Illustrations

In November of last year, I was contracted to create some illustrations for vernal pool signage that will eventually be installed at the Jepson Prairie Preserve. Many years ago, I created illustrations for Sacramento Splash's wetland education curriculum and the Jepson job was a result of that connection. This project was funded by a grant which had a year-end deadline, making a quick turnaround necessary. I have to admit, I felt a little crazy agreeing to do this on such short notice, but I would have been more crazy to turn it down! I'm thrilled that my art will be on signage at Jepson Prairie; my client was easy to work with (she provided the majority of the reference photos and was very clear on what she wanted); and the job paid well. Funding still needs to be raised for the sign fabrication and installation and there may be additional illustration work at that time - most likely some edits to the existing drawings. Drawn in pen, there were 18 single-subject drawings (approx. 4" wide, varying heights), 9 smaller drawings (approx. 2" wide, varying heights) and 5 landscape schematics (approx. 9" x 11"). That added up to many hours and plenty of ink! Below is a selection of the single-subject drawings. The drawings are line art because the signs will be laser-etched metal, which will last longer out in the field than other sign production methods. My client set up the sign layouts, incorporating my drawings with text and time-line diagrams to explain the habitats and denizens of the Jepson Prairie preserve.