Jumping back into the water
“Water, Water Everywhere.”
If you look at photos of Biscayne National Park, that’s what you see. Water. Water. Water. In colors that are incredible and filled with both light and depth. Here’s a photo I found from the National Park Service that captures some of that magical color.
I’ll be participating in a group show at the Biscayne National Park later this summer and I want to create new work for it. I have done some works before which depict underwater fish alongside birds in the air and I enjoyed creating them. So I’m anxious to jump in again.
I want to learn from what I enjoyed when creating previous bird-and-fish compositions.
But I want to do some new things to keep it interesting.
I started with a sketch based on reference photos: fish plus pelicans.
I like this composition, but I decided to keep working on it. My concerns were both logistical and artistic. I want to make a pretty big piece that will fill a wall with color. But, creating and shipping a work that’s much over 44”W overwhelms my studio. And, despite all the moving parts, this composition doesn’t really go anywhere.
So, I am going to break it into three panels, dividing up the scene and adding a few more areas for pattern and color.
I think this will have more energy. The movement of the horizon line up and down creates a rhythm. Each panel will be about 22” wide. So the whole presentation when hung will be about 66”. That’s much more like the size I have in mind.
Today was working day 1: time get some color down on the fabric. I’m starting with the underwater, then I’ll print sky and birds next.
I am printing this color as monotypes with acrylics onto satin, so it has a nice intensity and a strong “Pop!”
The intense aqua of the fish from my reference photo is hard to capture without using fluorescent colors, which I don’t want to do. This lime hue will end up being overprinted with translucent phthalo-blue-based-mixed-teal in masked-out stenciled layers to create the shape of the fish. The green undertone will add richness to the water. I am hoping to create a luminous water effect.
After monotype printing this morning, the rest of my studio day was spent on beginning the construction. I’ll construct three separate panels, each a sandwich of muslin with felt batting between. I started getting those cut and put together so I can begin collaging on the fabric in layers.
In the next few days I’ll be drawing and then cutting out shapes of fish.
I can imagine a scuba diver under the water, surrounded by fish and colors, being surrounded and mesmerized. It would be endlessly interesting to see.
That’s how hours in the studio feel to me … endlessly interesting, with new things to discover on each project.
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If you also like images of water, birds and fish, here are a few pieces on my website that I created. Each one handles the elements in a very different way.
IMAGINING WHAT’S BENEATH A POND SURFACE
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For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating
Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com
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