“Wild Island” is one of my personal favourites. It began on the whim of one Tara Hill Burke, who just dreamt up the idea one day when we were sitting around chatting about things I could do next. I was getting more into hiding images within shapes, and had made a pretty fresh move back to Prince Edward Island.
The more we workshopped the idea, the more keen I felt on making it a reality. I started with a list of all the wildlife, both plants and animals, that I love here. I placed them across the Island in pencil and began in with the ink. I moved right to left across the Island filling in the details.
The original size of “Wild Island” is 11” x 14”, and that was the most crisp print created from it. I did a limited run of the prints, and sold out of the original sizing within about 3 months. Now I sell them in a smaller size of 8” x 10” and do have a handful left. As a greeting card, it’s one of my most popular and it is often framed for a small collage wall or mini print.
Since this piece, I’ve done a few others with the shape of the Island and other items within or around. “Cradled Island” is a great sister piece with the shape of PEI in the white space. It has the a huge selection of sea life surrounding the Island. Then I followed with “Wild & Winged” which is super similar to “Wild Island” but with all Prince Edward Island birds across the shape of the Island.
It wasn’t long after this piece that I was commissioned to do a version for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. I created both of these, and followed with New Brunswick. I plan to do more of these and keep going across Canada!