Benzene in our water

This editorial illustration is based on some magazine clippings that I came across. It's about water systems that have been polluted by industry - and the resulting death of the life forms within it.

My creative process for this image started when I came across an article from the 1990's on climate change. The image that accompanied the article was striking. It was essentially a close up view of really big cracks in the dried earth's surface. The cracks seemed to go on forever. The article was about how some parts of the world, such as California, were (and still are) having a water crisis due to unusually dry seasons. It was about human impact on the planet; how we as a species were slowly harming the world around us.

I didn't want to just copy the image, so I started thinking about what it meant to me. I started to sketch and work intuitively.

Dry earth illustration ~~ © Patricia Pinsk

I was curious to see where my illustration would go if I refrained from critical thinking as I drew and painted. What I ended up with initially was an abstract illustration of the cracked earth.

I felt this sketch was too similar to the photo that initially inspired me. Plus, I didn't really feel satisfied with it. So I started to play around with some digital layers.

As I kept working, I began to feel that this image needed to be more about water, than the lack thereof.

I began thinking in terms of polluted water streams and rivers - and the ecosystems within it. The final illustration is a result of this creative process.

Final image: Benzene in our water ~~ © Patricia Pinsk

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