Angel Simoneau
Gorham, ME
www.angelworks.space
IG: sugarkamisama
Fossil Finds
2023
Mixed Media (watercolor, pen + ink, marker)
when open: 21.5 L x 11 W x 3 H (tallest point),
when closed: 6.5 x 11 x 0.5
Artist Statement
Fossil Finds is an illustrated Flag Book about Paleontology; the study of ancient life like dinosaurs and sea creatures. The fossils illustrated as flags in my book are a collection of fossils I enjoy learning about through documentaries, articles, and books. While these fossils would often not be found together in real life, I wanted to create a flag book that encapsulated some of my favorite finds; like the ichthyosaur found by Mary Anning or fossils that are especially fun to look at; such as the famous triceratops. I used many layers of watercolors for each fossil and finished detail work with pen, ink and markers. The background that holds the fossil flags is a light brown paper lightly decorated with watercolor to represent dirt. Each fossil was given a slightly grey backdrop to represent the ‘stone’ or ‘dirt’ behind the fossil to give contrast. In real life, these would blend together more with their given environment they were found in. The black paper wrapping both covers and the bottom layer of the accordion was specifically chosen to help the browns and greys in my fossils pop and give more depth to the book. The cover title is handwritten as I prefer my books to have a fully traditional aspect to them.
Finally, the fossil placement is intentionally chaotic. Traditionally, flag books are far more orderly and organized. However, due to the nature of fossil hunting and the various shapes of fossil skulls I had to be a little more sporadic with placement. I wanted the fossils to be spread out and placed in different angles/views because when you are actually digging you find things in all different directions and placements! Sometimes, you only find bits and pieces of something too; but for the sake of my book I wanted my fossils to be more completed.
This book represents my love and appreciation for a field I was always fascinated by and I hope it brings you a certain amount of curiosity. While I await the day that I can maybe find a fossil in the real world I will settle for creating books with my own fossils in them.