Mercedes Padró is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Illinois. With a paintbrush in hand, she creates whimsical and vivid pieces that visualize the world as she sees it. Padró describes her art as “quirky perfectionism with a Latin twist.”

Padró’s Sketchbook introduces a welcome burst of joyful colors to the winter season. “Initially I visualized a monarch butterfly and their flight to Mexico, but I decided to take liberties with the color palette to push the visual realm,” she tells Zócalo.

Gouache is Padró’s primary medium. For this migration series, she scanned and digitally edited her gouache illustrations to create final vignettes that fly off the page.