Equilibrium is available as part of Pangeaseed Foundation’s In Peril print collection, a company that showcases ocean-inspired contemporary art in a bid to raise awareness of marine conservation.
See full version: 6 Artists Who Use Their Art to Promote Ocean Conservation
Equilibrium is available as part of Pangeaseed Foundation’s In Peril print collection, a company that showcases ocean-inspired contemporary art in a bid to raise awareness of marine conservation.
Mattison explains on her website, “Toward the edges and tail of the swirling constellation corals sicken and bleach, exposing their sterile white skeletons—a specter of what could be lost from climate change.” [links]
Sydney-based artist Marie Antuanelle captures the beauty of the unspoiled oceans in her swirling epoxy resin art. But the talented artist’s work is more than just pretty pictures—they’re intended to connect viewers with tranquil beaches and “spark conversations about the importance of marine conservation.” Through incorporating real natural objects such as gemstones and seashells within her paintings, she “highlights how precious natural beauty is to humanity” by “erasing any traces of human presence to impart the feeling of a completely free and pure world.”
Many people around the world are doing their part to save our seas, including contemporary artists. Through their art, they create powerful visualizations that pay homage to the beauty of the ocean, but also showcase the devastating effects of human impact. From textile art and ceramics to painting and paper sculptures, read on to discover the work of 6 artists who promote ocean conservation.
Portuguese artist Vanessa Barragão creates textile rugs, large-scale tapestries, and wall hangings that address the huge scale at which the textile industry pollutes the ocean. Every piece is handmade using discarded textile waste and a variety of techniques, including crochet, latch hook, hand-tufting, embroidery, felting, and knitting. She transforms colorful yarn into stunning textile forms that mimic textured coral structures found in the sea. In one piece in particular, titled Coral Garden, Barragão visualizes the effects of coral bleaching—a phenomenon that starves and eventually kills coral. The plush wall hanging gradually changes from rich hues on one side to a white, muted palette on the other.
British illustrator Mat Miller’s piece, titled Equilibrium, highlights the rapid extinction of sea creatures and the vulnerability of their precious ecosystems. Rendered using fineliners, watercolor paint, and acrylic ink, the talented artist captures a vibrant underwater habitat that's bursting with life. From tropical fish to colorful coral, each hand-drawn motif plays a vital part in the overall picture, just like every creature in the ocean has an important part to play. Miller explains, “If you were to take away one element, then the composition would be off in just the same way as taking away one element completely in a real-life sense would have huge repercussions for the rest of the ecosystem”
To Mae, art is as much about the approach and method as it is about the completed piece. She views painting each large-scale depiction as an escape, and is most content when she becomes fully engrossed in her craft. “I indulge in the painting and drawing process in an instinctive and limitless manner trusting the skills that I have developed to produce original works of art,” the self-taught artist explains on her website.
Each of Mae's larger-than-life paintings of waves is meticulously composed of layer upon layer of paint. As her favorite subject is the ocean, she predominantly works in a range of blended blue pigments. These sea-inspired jewel tones are beautifully accented by the white, green, and brown hues that represent sea foam, aquatic plants, and sand, respectively. Vanessa Mae also employs different techniques in her practice, and describes her detail-oriented, color-centric style as “semi-abstract, abstract and in some cases verging on impressionism.” [links]
With an admiration for the ocean and a penchant for painting, Sydney-based artist Vanessa Mae creates large-scale studies of splashing ocean waves. Using acrylic paint, she creates depictions of waves that are paradoxically both realistic and deeply abstract.
“Although ideas for my paintings come from many different avenues,” she continues, “I believe that in the end my creativity is inspired by personal experiences, feelings from within, memories and impressions from the ever-changing environment around me.” Both an exploration of nature and a means of reflection, each sublime painting is more than an aesthetically pleasing portrayal of the sea.
This work was painted sometime between 1808 and 1810 and is known as one of the most famous German works from the time period. here
Regardless of how the sea is portrayed, there is a significant level of mastery in being able to accurately depict the ocean in its many different forms. Here are 10 of the most famous ocean paintings ever done.
The artist also includes ships that are also dwarfed by the huge waves around them. The vessel that is in the center of the painting appears to be on the verge of being swallowed by an incoming rogue wave.
Capturing the sea in all it’s individualistic glory is a tall task for many painters, but the most skilled have found ways to portray the sea and it’s lofty waves in a manner which adds as much intrigue and amazement as any social dynamic that can be imagined by a playwright or other creative artist.
Drawing inspiration from two survivors of the shipwreck, Géricault painted a scene that captured a more hopeful outlook than what is actually recorded of the incident. [links]
In the print, Hokusai conceived the wave and the distant Mount Fuji in terms of geometric language. The curator at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Jocelyn Bouquillard, outlined Hokusai’s development of landscape prints, technical skills and creating processes in Hokusai’s Mount Fuji: The Complete Views in Colour. The book provides several statements about how Japanese culture and historical events influenced Hokusai’s creations as well as how he has been internationally perceived by the Western arts world. This informative book is a great guide to a deep appreciation of Hokusai’s art. here
The Great Wave of Kanawaga, also known as The Great Wave, is one of the most famous examples of Japanese art in the world. Hiroe Nirei discusses some of the studies written about the iconic image.
The energetic and imposing picture The Great Wave (Kanagawa Oki Nami Ura) is the best-known work by Japanese artist Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849), one of the greatest Japanese woodblock printmakers, painters and book illustrators. The Great Wave was created around 1831 as part of a series of woodblock prints called Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku Sanju-roku Kei). Hokusai (2004), a book written by the Italian professor of East Asian Art, Gian Carlo Calza, offers a general introduction to Hokusai’s works, looking at a chronologically arranged overview of his life and career. The collection of monographs by distinguished Western and Japanese scholars display’s wide research and keen discernment of present studies on Hokusai, while the abundant illustrations, amounting to over 700 in total, allow the readers to explore the fascinating world of Hokusai.
The most eye-catching feature of the painting is the extended wave as it is about to break with the crash of its claw-like crest. The beautiful dark blue pigment used by Hokusai, called Prussian Blue, was a new material at the time, imported from England through China. The wave is about to strike the boats as if it were an enormous monster, one which seems to symbolise the irresistible force of nature and the weakness of human beings.
Edmond De Goncourt, the author of Hokusai (2009), discusses how the unique artistic expression of Hokusai has influenced European artists since the middle of the nineteenth century. Prints began to circulate widely through Europe and The Great Wave became a source of inspiration for a variety of artists. including the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh and the French impressionist composer Claude Debussy. [links]