A few weeks before the end of last year I sat down at my easel in deep thought. I wanted to attempt to paint a picture of how I would like to see the New Earth. What is my ultimate Utopia? What does it look like? What colours are there?
After some quiet time and inner reflection, this is what I came up with…
When I paint a flower I feel an overwhelming bliss – an excitement to capture the beauty and magic of what I see and feel when I am in their glorious presence.
I am never happier than when I have a house full of flowers and the scent hangs on the air. Or when I am in my garden just being present with the smell of lavenders on the breeze.
They are my main source of inspiration because I still cannot fully fathom their exquisite beauty. Eckhart Tolle put it in a nutshell when he said that we could look upon flowers as the enlightenment of plants. I could look upon flowers all day and still be mesmerized. They are a true gift to us and to gaze upon their delicate wonder is to look at the unfolding of pure potential.
To read more about what inspires me, please visit or click on the book below – you can view a full preview of the book (preview button is at the bottom of the book icon on Lulu.com).
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As promised, in my previous blog about whales (read here), this art blog is going to be about painting dolphins. As I explained in the ‘Why you have to love whales’ blog – I live in Cape Town and am privileged to see these beautiful mammals expressing their joyous souls on a regular basis.
I have not, sadly, swum with them (yet) – as was the case with the whale – but I have seen pods of dolphins in the False Bay area and what a sight and fuel for inspiration they are!
I have no fantastic tales (or tails) to regale with today so I am simply going to stick to the technical aspects of painting underwater scenes…
The technical side of painting underwater (and no, not physically!)
Painting underwater scenes are quite involved as they require a lot of layering. This ‘wash’ of blue that needs to be repeated until the desired effect is achieved, needs time and patience…and I paint in acrylics – for those who paint in oils the process takes even longer as the drying time is slower.
The first layer consists of getting the basic blue background started – then I apply the subject matter.
When that is done the watered-down blue paint wash layering begins until the right monotone colour is produced and ready to go out into the world.
The most rewarding part of this journey is in the varnishing. As soon as you apply that coat of gloss varnish the painting comes alive and the water looks wet again (like it does when the paint is first set to canvas).
Magnifique!
Perhaps this can give you a better appreciation of how much time and effort (or in some cases, curses and tears) goes into these deceptively tricky aquatic scenes.
Inspiration
With every work of art comes the inspiration behind it. With this painting, as with the whale painting, I have put it down in the form of a poem.
The Poem
‘Dolphins – The Spirit of Freedom’
You never let us forget how to love How to laugh How to smile How to be light-hearted
You never let us forget how to be In the moment In this space In this time
You never let us forget about beauty About simplicity About friendship About sincerity
You never let us forget about fun Being in the heart Playing with each other Soaking up the bliss
You never let us forget why we love you so Why we feel connected Why you are important Why you are here
You never let us forget Who we are Why we are When we are
Please never let us forget
If you also have an affinity for dolphins and would like to splash out and have this original painting gracing your wall – click here for details. I also have a wide variety of products to choose from with this specific dolphin design – for prints, posters and greeting cards click here, for gift ideas click here.
For those of you who still need convincing about how wonderful dolphins are, please do yourself a favour and watch this incredible short video – your heart will melt…go on, you know you want to. 🙂
Painting underwater scenes are quite involved as they require a lot of layering. This ‘wash’ of blue that needs to be repeated until the desired effect is achieved, needs time and patience…and I paint in acrylics – for those who paint in oils the process takes even longer as the drying time is slower.
Cherie Roe Dirksen 