Semi-Abstract Marine Art

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Soakedlontra

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Northern Puget Sound
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This is a thread about my experiments in marine art and other marine artworks that I like.

I like to mix different media together on paper and push the boundary of what is supposed to be realistic art. I also like to tackle the subject with different approaches: sometimes I sketch it from life paying attentions to details creating the illusion of volume, sometimes I capture the main shapes and colors and other times I simplify the forms and don't care about perspective or shading.

Questo e' un thread che riguarda i mei esperimenti artistici nel campo dell'arte con tema del mare e le sue creature ed i lavori di altri artisti con simile soggetto che mi piacciono.

Mi piace mischiare diverse tecniche su carta ed oltrepassare il confine di quello che e' considerato realismo. Mi piace anche affrontare il soggetto in modi diversi: alcune volte disegno dal vero facendo attenzione ai dettagli e utilizzando il chiaro scuro; altre volte catturo le sue forme generali e colori ed altre volte lo semplifico e non mi importa della prospettiva e del chiaroscuro.



CohoSalmon_09.jpg


Remembering a Coho Salmon
Bee wax, clay, acrylic, charcoal and graphite on paper
©Betty Bastai 2010

Starry_Flounder.jpg


Starry Flounder
Watercolor, charcoal and graphite on paper
11 x 8 inches - 28 x 20 cm.

©Betty Bastai 2010


I still remember when I saw this miserable half starry flounder washed out on the beach. While I was sketching it a bald eagle was watching me with keen interest from the top of a tree that had grown at the edge of the bluff. When I was through with the fish I left it on a flat piece of driftwood. I walked away from it knowing that the eagle was following my moves. When I reached a certain distance I turned around and I saw the bald eagle promptly flying over the fish with its talons all spread out ready to strike. The mighty bird picked the flounder up as if it were a feather and disappeared into the trees above my head.

Non mi dimentichero' mai il giorno in cui ho schizzato questa povera starry flounder mangiata a meta'. Quando la stavo disegnando un'acquile dalla testa bianca mi continuava a spiare dall'alto della cima di un'albero sopra alla scogliera di sabbia ed argilla. Dopo aver finito il disegno lasciai il pesce sopra un pezzo di legno e me ne andai. Qando raggiunsi una certa distanza mi voltai e vidi l'aquila volare sul pesce con gli artigli aperti pronti a colpire. Il rapace afferro' la starry flounder in un colpo solo sollevandola come se fosse una piuma e spari' nella boscaglia.


Big_Skate.jpg


Big Skate and Seagull
Watercolor and charcoal on paper
11 x 8 inches - 28 x 20 cm.

©Betty Bastai 2010


This is the first big skate that I have ever seen washed out on the beach.

La prima Big Skate che ho visto sulla spiaggia
 
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Giuseppe Arcimboldo was a 16th century Italian painter. He is well known for his surreal portraits composed of animals, fruits, vegetables and objects.

I knew that he painted a portrait with fish titled Water but when I looked at some websites about his work I discovered that he painted also a second portrait with marine animals titled The Admiral.

When I was drawing my personal interpretations of these paintings I kept thinking that he must have his studio stinking with dead fish while he created them. I bet that in the 16th century people fantasized about breathing underwater a lot. I am wondering if he did it too. I was also thinking about of all the fishes he painted how many of them are still swimming in European waters. Did he made up any?

Giuseppe Arcimboldo e' un pittore italiano del 1500 ed e' famoso per i suoi ritratti bizzarri creati con frutta, verdure, animali ed oggetti. Sapevo che aveva creato un ritratto usando pesci ed altri animali marini intitolato Acqua. Dopo aver ricercato la sua biografia su internet ho scoperto che aveva dipinto un'altro ritratto con pesci : L' Ammiraglio.

Quando stavo disegnado le mie interpretazioni di questi due dipinti mi sono detta che il suo studio doveva puzzare terribilmente di pesce morto quando stava creando questi lavori. A quel tempo respirare aria sott'acqua era solo un sogno. Chissa' se ad Arcimboldo gli sarebbe piaciuto fare il sub. Poi mi sono chiesta:'Di tutti i pesci che ha dipinto quali sono qelli che nuotano ancora nelle acque europee? Ne ha inventati alcuni?'



Arcimboldo1.jpg


Omaggio ad Arcimboldo: Water/Acqua
acrylic and ink on paper
12 x 9 inches
May 2010
©BettyBastai 2010

Arcimboldo2.jpg


Omaggio ad Arcimboldo: The Admiral/L'Ammiraglio
acrylic and ink on paper
12 x 9 inches (30.5 x 23 cm.)
May 2010
©BettyBastai 2010

Here you can view the originals/Qui puoi vedere gli originali:

Water and The Admiral


If you create your self-portrait in Arcimboldo's manner what kind of marine animals would you choose?

Se tu creassi un tuo auto-ritratto alla maniera dell'Arcimboldo quali tipi di animali marini sceglieresti?​
 
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It' has been a while since I have posted something on this thread. Let's rise it from the dead with this little watercolor and color pencil study of rough sea on paper:


Web_RSea_Jan21.jpg

BettyBastai©

It was windy and stormy at the beach. Originally I wanted to take video clips of the powerful rough sea but as soon as I tried to pull out the camera from my backpack I realized it that I had left it at home. So I pulled out my sketchbook instead!

 
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If you are planning to dive on Whidbey Island, WA, in March you will have the opportunity to see some of mine ocean-inspired drawings at
Oak Harbor Public Library
.

They are part of a series titled Poseidon's Horses

This work will be displayed to the public for the first time:

At_Dawn.jpg

At Dawn
Watercolor, dry pastel and graphite on paper
18 x 26 inches
2010


This piece is a semi-abstract seascape that it is partially based on reality and mythology. It refers to a particular beach located on Whidbey Island.
When I create this kind of work I walk along the beach with all my drawing material and spend the whole day there:

Beach_Studio_July_04.jpg


In myths around the world the cosmos, natural features and elements are often created from the body parts of a god/goddess or hero/heroine.
In Greek mythology the horse was associated with water. The Ancient Greeks thought that the god of the sea Poseidon created the first horse.

The distortions of the realistic elements in the drawing derive from my fascination with artworks by the Italian painter Parmigianino
and the Spanish artists El Greco
and Pablo Picasso
The simplified forms and colors echo my interest in the works of painters like Milton Avery.

artwotk and photos Betty Bastai©


 
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It's just a flash in my head. I shot this sea from the ferry on my way to Isola del Giglio. While editing my video about diving at Giglio and worked on this clip I began to think of a video that I watched ages ago when I was a student at Edinburgh College of Art. It was titled Endless Sea and was created by a couple of emerging young Scottish Artists: Dalziel Matthew and Louise Scullion. At that time it did not make an impression on me but I guess ten years later it did...


[video=vimeo;27352902]http://vimeo.com/27352902[/video]

Language & the Environment : Artists Dalziel + Scullion

 

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