This is the second image and sketch (in terms of production but not necessarily with respect to its position in the final submission) in the projected group of four. It lent itself very much to Klee’s Golden Fish model and so, based on the earlier copy I’d done of that, I prepped my white cartridge with black gesso and used soft pastels to make a humpback whale centre stage. It’s clearly not as bright as the golden fish because, to retain its dignity which I felt it deserved, the palette needed to be more consistent with that of the deep sea and this huge mammal within that environment. I’ve deviated considerably from Klee’s model by reducing the child-like, cartoonish drawing style to, instead, pull out the shapes there in the animal’s own body surface, its volume, and its inherent brightness. The colours are exaggerated in a way that might resonate with reimagining of a field of flowers as seen in ultra-violet by bees. I’ve also brought some light down from the surface and I think I’d like to make these into much more of an aurora borealis to reflect the feeding grounds of these stunning creatures.

I want the colours also to hark back to Moore’s poem and the ” sea the purple of the peacock’s neck” which “is paled to greenish azure as Dürer changed the pine green of the Tyrol to peacock blue and guinea gray.”

I’m beginning also to think of how to present this grouping and the idea of a horizontal ‘storyboard’ is beginning to appeal with the images arranged according to either date order (Turner first) or some theme that emerges as they emerge themselves. The text of the poem should also play a part. The idea of cropping, suggested by my tutor and something I hadn’t quite legitimised in my own mind, seems also to be relevant here as A1 is the largest mounting board I have and these need to fit both logistically and aesthetically. It is after all, one piece of work so what is it, as a whole, going to say?

Image source: Unreal Engine where I find it’s actually an animation!