“When did you start to paint?” It’s a common question, but I never know how to answer, I can’t remember the first time I took a pencil and started playing. I think all of us did it but the world makes us put it aside and focus on “more serious things.” As for me, I took drawing pretty seriously.
I was born in a small town in the Andean mountains of Colombia. A beautiful area where you can be surrounded by fog and nearly frozen plants, and three hours later, be looking at the wonderful diversity in the gates of the plain lowlands of the country. I remember three aspects of my childhood: the field trips with my dad, a school pouch full of colored pencils and my violin. If I look back now, it seems pretty clear my life had some kind of path since the beginning, however, it would not be clear to me until years later.
Although I always showed a taste for arts, I decided to study biology at The National University of Colombia, even if I was not sure about this field of study. But it was such a right choice! Since my first semester I fell in love with science, theories and every single detail of this huge new world that was hidden from me before. However, I never dropped art. I clearly remember making sketches was my favorite part during laboratory workshops, everything to me had much more sense with a drawing aside, this might sound childish, but I think that are childish things, as curiosity and wonder, that makes us fall for science. I took some art courses as a hobby while studying biology, some pencils, small trials of watercolor and every medium that came across.
Later, totally focused on my scientific career, and still not sure about my vocation, I joined the research laboratory of wild bees where I discovered one of the most amazing group of animals. Before studying biology, the only bees that existed for me was the yellow and black bees, the honeybees, so when I started to look into the morphology and ecologic diversity, I got completely fascinated. How was it possible that only by studying biology you get to know about these marvelous beings? Not only talking about bees but about most of biology subjects, it was evident the huge break between people making science and those outside the academic world. This is particularly disturbing when thinking about biodiversity conservation since without including people beyond the academic world there is no possibility of nature conservancy. With these thoughts in mind, I started thinking about science outreach as a tool for preserving nature and surrounded by pollinators and their special importance in the life of the planet, I did my first illustration project: a cutting leaf bee for the National Encounter of Wild Bees from Colombia, organized by my research lab. That illustration marks the beginning of my career as a scientific illustrator. Since then, I started drawing to represent biology, for scientific specialized papers to books for conservation initiatives with local communities.
One of the most beautiful things has been getting to observing, really observing, many groups of animals and plants. Although I truly liked bees, never felt like the person who could dedicate her life to a single subject, so illustration was perfect for me! By drawing I have studied fishes of the southern chocoan region in Colombia, felines of the Llanos, dolphins of the Amazon, even reptiles from prehistoric times. I’ve been able to bring to life species that are already extinct because of humans, while trying to avoid more extinctions through illustrations by showing the beauty and importance of each species. It is impossible to pick a single favorite project because I have been truly in love with each one of them. I would like to put in words how amazing it is to me every texture and detail that brings life into a piece of paper. I can’t pick between the colorful marine species of the Caribbean coast of Colombia and the most beautiful book collection of science for children; far less picking between magic in the tales of indigenous people of the Amazon and the universe formed by the scales of an endless snake of the rainforest of Ecuador.
I have loved every single project that has come my way. Now, it has been seven years since I started making scientific illustration, and every step has confirmed my devotion to life. I wish this devotion would be full with just color pigments but it is inevitable to let nostalgic and pain get in. It is hard to understand how broken our relationship with nature is, to the point that a massive disappearance of life in the planet seems to be submissively accepted.
I want to turn my illustration work into art, capable of spreading my devotion into every single mind that looks at it. Through painting, I find a shelter that takes me back to nature, craving for the missing link. I paint not as a denunciation but as a cry of nostalgia and fear of losing nature and ourselves. I want you to find shelter too and join me into feeling life through its fragile colors, into feeling you as an important active part of this unspeakable beauty and decide to preserve it.
