The Wild Postcard Project

Sascha (9)
Beaver
Mixed media
British Columbia, 2018

This bold, experimental move, combining watercolor with salt, created an interesting texture to this piece. The technique adds depth as well as a sense of surrealism to Sascha’s artwork. Sascha’s creativity is only but one of the many aspects that drew the judges to his artwork. He cleverly chose a very special animal to Canada, and most importantly to the Indigenous people of Canada and entire ecosystems that depend on it for their livelihood: Canada’s very own national animal, the beaver.

Rachel (16)
Eagle at Sunset
Paper collage
British Columbia, 2018

This artwork by Rachel is not only a magnificent mosaic of carefully placed pieces of paper, but is also a reminder of an important feature of BC’s food webs and the interactions between animals that link the biodiversity on land (eagle) and in the sea (salmon) together. We were impressed by the perfectly choreographed color scheme and her observations of this crucial partnership between land and sea. How she was able to translate it into such a creative piece made a lasting impression on the judging panel.

Minal (11)
Leave a Story
Watercolor on paper
British Columbia, 2018

Minal did not use the easiest of materials to craft her masterpiece, in spite of this she pulls the viewer into her dreamy-like scene to remind us of the natural beauty around us, unique to BC, that is tightly intertwined between all life forms, including us. The title and scene combined with the vivid colors used by Minal, not only evoke creativity in the viewer, but also took tremendous amounts of creativity to produce – A sure sign of Minal’s own creative genius!

Will, Alex, Rachael, Joely, Connor, Jack, Henry, Sophie, Zoë (age 9) – Fraser Academy (collaboration
Tidepool
Ceramic
British Columbia, 2018

*Founders’ Choice Award*

This artwork is not only stunning, it was meticulously crafted by nine 9 year olds! Just like a marine ecosystem, they managed to deliver a perfectly balanced piece. The judges and WPP Founders were impressed by the quality of the artwork and also by the teamwork that went into this sculpture. It is teamwork like this that will ensure the conservation of biodiversity worldwide. Already these kids exhibit this great quality, and at such a young age!

Megan (17)
Untitled
Pencil crayons & water color
British Columbia, 2018

Megan’s artwork had us lost for words when we realized it wasn’t a photograph! Her talent, compounded with her eye for detail has given rise to the life-like portrait of an owl. We were thoroughly impressed and are still stunned that she was able to reproduce such an exact image.

Julienne (13)
Secret September
Acrylic paint
British Columbia, 2018

No words can describe the artistic talent shown in Julienne’s artwork. Her unique style and the detail she provided in this artwork brought the scene of a bear hunting pacific salmon during a salmon run to life. The image she presents tells a visually compelling and profound story about the rare Spirit Bear, unique to the Great Bear Rainforest. This image will no doubt leave a long lasting footprint in the viewers mind.

Cheng (12)
Salmon
Oil pastel
British Columbia, 2018

In her artwork, Cheng inserted a lot of graphic impact by playing with lines, color tones, and depth. This piece successfully captured the action of a salmon actively swimming up a stream – beautifully depicting a critical point at the end of their life cycle. Our judges loved Cheng’s unique style, observation of this ecologically important time point, as well as the simplicity and playfulness of her artwork.

Brie (14)
Octopus
Mixed media
British Columbia, 2018

We were excited to see a giant pacific octopus featured in this year’s entries as it is a charismatic animal in our local BC waters… and every SCUBA diver’s dream encounter. We were impressed with Brie’s research of our local biodiversity as not many people know of this underwater superstar. Brie’s use of different materials and sketching style adds a raw and wild feel to her piece. Her style perfectly represents an action shot of this energetic and engaging animal.

Anika (10)
Midnight Barn Owl
Dry pastel
British Columbia, 2018

This piece by Anika has a mysterious, and also biologically correct layer to it: the piercing look imprinted in the owl’s gaze, reminiscent of that seen in many nocturnal animals. What the judges loved most were the colors that Anika chose for her artwork – what seems to be a perfect placement of complimentary shades carefully placed side by side to give that striking look in her magnificent barn owl.

Jack (15)
Bees
Digital art
British Columbia, 2018

Jack uniquely observed and represented the exact morphology of a bee. The application of digital media in his art emphasizes the angular shapes of the bee’s perfect geometric form (an example of nature’s engineering genius), which is used today in biomimicry to design and build better materials globally. The detailed components and use of color somehow emphasize the graceful appearance of bee and highlight Jack’s eye for detail and artistic ability.

Grace (8)
Rainbow Bird
Mixed media
British Columbia, 2018

Grace managed to simply and perfectly capture the beauty of a hummingbird in flight. The judges loved the mix of different materials used, especially the colorful feathers that really help them imagine the light and energetic beating of the hummingbird’s wings while feeding.

Ava & Aaron (5)
Bzzzy Biodiversity
Mixed media
British Columbia, 2018

The judges loved how Ava and Aaron were able to incorporate all of BC’s major biodiversity into a single artwork, while creatively using a mixture of materials. Their artwork is beautifully representative of how animals and plants all function together as part of a wider ecosystem.