recent illustrations — taja arya jinnah artworks

Here you’ll find a small selection of my illustrations and paintings! The natural world is a constant source of inspiration for me as an artist. I love doing traditional studies of wildlife as well as weird surreal drawings that blend my experiences and emotions with natural elements. I’m very excited to start building a larger collection of new illustrative works alongside my sculptural practice
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Belonging, 2024. mixed media.

Meditation on queer belonging in relationship to nature. Includes lots of critters local to BC: leafcutter bee, little brown bat, sockeye salmon, moon daisy, fireweed, salmonberry, humpback whale, red-breasted nuthatch, earthworm, north-western garter snake, yours truly & my partner. Also includes convergent patterns and unseen structures: deer jaw bone, vertebrae bone, whale ear. Birding + spending time outdoors has been a big part of my life and love story. cycles of life and regeneration are touched on through the skeletal elements, fireweed + earthworm.

The Chase, 2024. mixed media.

This illustration connects to the place that first gave me such a love for nature. Last June. while sitting with binoculars in hand on Bowen Island I was lucky enough to see this scene play out in real life. A barred owl swooped down silently to grab a large garter snake in its talons. Its three chicks screeched in the nearby trees while robins (who had their own nest close by) used the full force of their bodies to smack the grown owl in the back of the head. A tiny but ferocious Rufous Hummingbird also joined in on harassing the owl and soon there was a small procession of small but determined birds chasing down the owl with their metaphorical pitchforks