Hello! My name is Meredith and I am a senior at Massachusetts College of Art and Design studying Illustration. Throughout the month, I will be studying the three-toed sloth (bradypus) and creating artwork based off of my research. I'll be sharing my journey on this blog, and I hope you follow along with me!
A page from my sketchbook. I love sloths!
About my Art
My art practices mainly revolve around traditional media, though I do some digital illustration as well. I love to work with watercolors, pen and ink, gouache, and graphite. I work a lot in portraiture and I love to play with colors. I draw from personal experiences, song lyrics, nature, literature, and alternative culture to create the imagery featured in my work.
One Man Band, Meredith Lynn (2021) White Rabbit, Meredith Lynn (2021)
About My Project
I have loved three-toed sloths for as long as I can remember. It’s hard even to explain, but they fascinate me, and I just think they are adorable. I love that they are considered one of the slowest moving animals in the world. In fact, they are so slow that algae and fungi grow in their fur, creating a mutualistic symbiotic relationship. Their bodies have adapted in such interesting ways to make living almost completely in trees possible. Their fur grows from their stomachs out to their backs, as they are often hanging upside down, and their thick, strong claws help them grip branches.
BBC, Getty Images
As I dive deeper into my research, I think my project will become more concrete, but I’d like to do a watercolor painting series illustrating all of the three-toed sloth’s adaptations and explore how they live the way they do. I’m picturing a diagram sort of structure, with one large painting of a sloth with zoomed in segments pulled out to the side so the viewer can get an in-depth view of the features I’d like to highlight.
Check in next week to see developed sketches and read more about my research!