Sea Creatures - A Study of Texture, Color and Nature

Series of Four - Texture, Color and Nature

 It's always fun to start a new project.  This time I wanted to explore nature with techniques using texture and color highlighting sea creatures.  The sea fascinates me with all the large and small shapes of animals, with animals that look like flowers and plants, with seashells that were homes and so much more.  

Selecting which creatures I use in this study took some research, planning and experimenting. There is so much in nature we are not aware.  For instance -Sea Slugs and the variety of shapes and colors they come in.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_slug  Nor was I aware of the Ribbon eel - such a graceful unusual creature.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribbon_eel

I began collecting pictures of the creatures that were appealing to me and that might support each other in a texture series.  

Before the actual work could begin, the decision of how and what to use for mounting each piece was decided on.  The structure chosen was a 4" x 4" x 2" box without a bottom.  These could be hung on the wall, set on a table or set on edge on a shelf.  They could be grouped as one or used individually.  I knew I would be attaching the polymer creatures to the wood box.

The first texture is created with many tiny shell-like pieces that range in height.  The twisted tubes, red to orange to yellow appear to break through the tiny shells as they reach up. 

Reaching up

The second, based on a beautiful anemone seems to stretch across the sunny sandy beach.  The color ranges from green to blue to magenta with each tentacle coming from the center  in a radial pattern.  In both the first and second pieces, blending the colors was most important.

Picture of an actual anemone on the left and my rendition on the right.

Sea Slugs provide another challenge in texture.  I used translucent polymer to get the translucent quality in the tube.  The blue and white bands add to the stability and bendable quality.   The texture of sand and rock is also important to show how these creatures move.  In each of the creatures, planning and experimenting with color and placement took priority.

Planning the shapes and colors


My rendition of Sea Slugs

The Ribbon Eel came next.  I looked for a simpler texture and shape to accompany the other three pieces and found the eel.  It is a very thin ribbon of clay with blue to yellow as it swims through the water.  This is an adult male ribbon eel.  One of the very fun things about researching is discovering things one did not know. Nature is amazing.  

My Ribbon Eel

I hope you enjoyed the process of my study.  The pieces will go to the Prescott Mountain Artists Guild's next show 'It's a Wild World' in January 2021.  Please come visit!


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Location: Prescott, AZ, USA

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