Care Free

On the Rocks

Marine

The Incident of 2/28/18

Migration

Intervention

Moon Jellies

Morgan

This is my concentration series. For these projects, I was trying to build on my ideas for concentration, which is creatures in the water themed. I am inspired by the squid from my beautiful oops, as well as the turtle from my mechanical paradox and decided to keep this style. These projects continue to develop, each one gaining inspiration from the past project.

I started the first project by sketching out two jellyfish. I think these creatures are beautiful, and I really wanted to make one. I wanted to try something different, because so far my projects have been very similar. I decided to use a different size for paper, and use the technique of stippling. This means using fine point pens or ink to make small dots of color. Although time consuming, this technique resulted in a cool texture. I think it helped the effect of translucency that jellyfish have, I thought the background was boring however but did not want to do any more stippling. I made a pale blue wash with watercolor and painted the background. This caused the pens to bleed some, so I had to go over some tentacles to keep the fine texture. I also made small dots in the corners to add shade.

The next project in my series is starfish. I chose these creatures because they are brightly colored and have interesting form. I started out by sketching out the starfish based on a reference image. I had them laying on rocks and coral. I used water color for the water, rocks, and starfish. I added details on these parts of the project with pen to add detail. I added triangles and texture to the starfish. I added patterns to the coral as well to give it some realism. I added barnacles to the rock to made it more interesting.

The next project in my concentration is a set of seahorses. These are beautiful, armored creatures. I wanted to give this piece a darker color palette. My jellyfish are very pastel, while the starfish a brightly colored, so I thought giving this a darker tone would be a nice variety. I used dark blues and black for the background, and also painted in some dark green sea weed, because seahorses cannot swim. They require plants to hold on to. I painted the two seahorses with watercolor in similar yellow, oranges. I then went in with pens to accentuate the background, and to add details to the seahorses.

The next project in this concentration is of an octopus. For this project I wanted to move away from my usual water color and work with acrylic paint. I started out by using pencil to sketch out the shape of the octopus. I then painted the background, which I had to do multiple layers. It is lighter on the top and gets darker as it goes down the painting. I wanted the background to have a feeling of both water, and the sky, to give it a more interesting texture. I added clouds and ripples. Then I went through and painted the octopus. I wanted to make something intriguing in the portrait, so I chose to make one of the tentacles cut off. This relates to my title. I thought it would be interesting to have a bottom view, in order to change perspective. I ended up having to paint many small circular shapes for the suction cups. I then used pen to add accents. I outlined the tentacles, as well as each of the suctions. I think this added a really cool texture. I have wanted my projects to have more of a message, so I was developing this idea with this project. This project is based on the idea of animal conservation, as well as the idea that even through the hardships of life, we just have to keep on swimming.

For this next project in the series, I decided to paint manta rays. I think these are beautiful and intriguing creatures, and since they had non-traditional bone structures, they are flexible creatures, creating cool movements. I decided to create three rays swimming together, from a upward looking perspective, to see their underbellies. I used colored pencil for the rays and for the rocks, and then went over the entire picture with very watered down water color, in order to push the rays from the foreground. I liked the idea of showing injured animals, so I continued that theme with this project. I showed scars on one of the rays from a boat propellers or hunting spears. This picture shows that family and groups will still accept a creature that has been injured. It is promoting conservation of animals with the idea that we need to accept and help those who are hurt instead of making them an outcaste.

The project, "Intervention", I made for an art contest. This contest required students to create a t-shirt design that used boats in the theme. I wanted to find a way to make this fit with my concentration. I decided to go with the story of the Kraken monster, but take a twist on it with the bright colors I usually use in my paintings. I started by sketching out the boat and the monster, making its tentacles wrap around the boat and masts. This was inspired by the octopus I had made previously. I painted the sky and water different shades of blue, adding texture to both. I then painted the boat with different shades of browns. At first I did not know what color to make the monster, so I started with a light yellow. I did not like how this looked, so I painted over it in a light green and added purple accents. I used pen, as I usually do, to add details, like the suction cups and outlines of the figures.

For the next project in this series I wanted to paint more jellyfish. As this concentration has continued, I discovered that I really enjoy drawing tentacles. I like the form and the movement I can create with them. I wanted to see if I could create the neon glow that moon jellyfish produce. I think these creatures are fascinating so I wanted to paint them. I used acrylic paint to start with the background. I painted a space scene in reference to the name of the creature: "moon jellyfish". I mimicked the shape of the pattern found on the jellyfish's head in the sky with stars. I used shades of purples, greens, and blues to paint the creatures. I am really happy with how this project turned out; I particularly like the color palette and how the colors seem to work together on the canvas.

This next project is one I created over April break. I did not have a art project assigned to complete, but I was feeling inspired to create. I went to a sea turtle rehabilitation center in Florida, where I saw an injured turtle. This turtle's name was Morgan, and he was hit by a boat propeller, ruining his balance and forcing him to wear a weighted vest. This turtle will never be able to return to the ocean. Even with his sad story however, Morgan seemed happy. He lived in a tank with many other fish, and I watched him contently eat lettuce. I decided to base this turtle off of Morgan. I started by sketching the scene with pencil, and then used watercolor markers to color the piece. I also used fine point markers to add shadows, textures, and patterns to the piece.

I hope to continue this concentration with more sea creatures. I like using watercolor, but I have begun branching off into different tools and materials. I like the more abstract background as water, with more detailed foregrounds focused in brushstrokes, and textures. I also am trying to include more habitats rather than plain creatures, as well as trying to create with a message in mind. I want to make my projects more interesting than just plain animals on their own. I may add personalities or perspectives to my animals in the future. I am planning to continue on with this theme, hopefully adding more interesting points of view.