About the Marine Iguana Drawing
When I traveled to the Galápagos Islands in 2010, I was simply hoping to see a Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus). I had read about these extraordinary lizards for years and imagined that finding one would be a rare and memorable event. Instead, they were everywhere – even resting on the dock as we boarded the boat. While walking around, we sometimes had to be careful not to trip over them. I was thrilled to see them, though perhaps a little disappointed that an animal I had regarded as almost mythical could appear so ordinary in its own world.
Marine Iguanas are the only living lizards that regularly forage in the sea, grazing algae from rocks along the shore and beneath the water. Their lives involve a remarkable thermal balance: they bask in the equatorial sun to raise their body temperature before entering the cold ocean, then return to the volcanic rocks to warm themselves again after feeding.
In Salt and Sun, I wanted to portray both the rugged appearance of the Marine Iguana and the unusual physiology that allows it to live within these two environments. The graphite emphasizes the heavy folds of skin, intricate scales, prominent dorsal spines, and calm expression of a lizard shaped by both the sea and the sun.
Salt and Sun is a graphite pencil Marine Iguana drawing by Michael E. Dorcas for Tantilla Art.