Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Underwater

I couldn’t think of many options for the letter U in this A-Z Challenge. Although I’ve always wanted to try underwater photography, I don’t have the equipment for it. Consequently, today I decided to show off a rare piece of traditional artwork. I say rare because I’ve not indulged in a lot of non-digital artwork because I’m not a fan of the mess, the storage, the stink of paints and turpentine, or the cat footprints in paint across the carpet because she walked across my palette while I took a break.

I did this piece in gouache paints on paper. It’s a self-portrait.



Should I make this image my new official author photo (chuckle)? Have you ever gone snorkelling? Have you ever dabbled in art?


Note: For the month of April during the A-Z Challenge I am pausing from my usual blogging theme of writing and social media tips. Instead I hope to share with you my photography. Much of it is inspired by the fabulous and helpful site, The Bookshelf Muse. Please check it out and enjoy.


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59 comments:

Charmaine Clancy said...

That's amazing Lynda, you're so talented. I've dabbled in many art classes and have absolutely NO talent. Still find it fun. I usually play with watercolor because it's less messy and washes off the hands easily.

Old Kitty said...

I doodle alot! Does that count? LOL! I can't swim either! Yikes, I feel totally useless now! Ooh U word!! Yay! Take care
x

J.C. Martin said...

That's a great piece of artwork! I'm not much of an artist, I'm afraid: got a very low C in my O-Level Art. And I'm with you on hating the mess from a painting session. But I have been snorkelling, and absolutely loved it! We did it in Malaysia at a marine reserve with a lovely coral reef. Tempted me to take up scuba-diving, but I worry about having to rely on a tank for my air, and my ears are very sensitive to pressure changes.

J.C. Martin
A to Z Blogger

Theresa Milstein said...

There is some stunning underwater photography out there. As I can see, you've been underwater. Just need the right camera!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That is really good, Lynda! Excellent colors and shading.
Not a fan of the physical messy stuff anymore either. And if I had to deal with footprints on top of it, I'd be even less of a fan.

Jemi Fraser said...

That's good! I'd love to try snorkelling one of these days! :)

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Wow! That is fabulous. Nice work.

Arooj said...

wow....is this glasses you are holding in the portrait?

Donna K. Weaver said...

Google "words that begin with__". There's a great site with Scrabble words that can give you ideas. Some of these last words of the alphabet are tough.

I have gone snorkeling. In Hawaii. Loved it.

Terri Tiffany said...

Wow! That is really good!! You have talent girl!

Tonja said...

Great picture. An underwater camera would be amazing. I hope you get one - I'd love to see the photos.

Luanne G. Smith said...

Wow, that's really cool. I'm always blown away to learn that my fellow writers are also accomplished artists as well. So cool.

And, no, I don't believe in going in the ocean. There are things in there that will eat you.

Grover said...

I am both impressed by, and jealous of, your artistic talent. Think I'll stick to the snorkelling ;)

Anonymous said...

Nicely done. I would use it! And we've been Snuba diving in Maui. Its a combo of scuba and snorkeling. You dive attached to a floating tank of compressed air for about 30 minutes. Very fun.

Melissa Sugar said...

I am fascinated with art and I like to pretend that I can actually paint. The kids and I do it about once a month (get out all the paints, brushes & canvases etc.). We have a really good time and I am forced to always paint something very abstract because it is really just a mess of mixed colors and textures. I love your artwork. It really is awesome, you have another talent.

I loved snorkeling in Hawaii at Hanauma Bay in Hawaii. The fish swim right up to you at eat pees out of your hands. I tried scuba diving in Mexico twice and both times I suffered a panic attack.

Betty Alark said...

Striking resemblance there,Lynda!

Snorkeling has always been a desire of mine!

The art work is great, Lynda! I'm sure if you do choose to use it as your official author photo it will be captivating!

I've tried my hand at art/drawing; I'm afraid that my poetry is artistic as I'm going to get!

Have a great day, Lynda!


http://bettyalark.blogspot.com

Carol Kilgore said...

I love your painting! My creative side comes out in other ways. I couldn't wait to go snorkeling. I was so excited, it was all I could talk about. Imagine my surprise when I hated it. I was like 'what?' The only thing I can figure is that not only did I hate being forced to breathe through my mouth, I'm a little bit claustrophobic. And I felt a little trapped...because I was forced to breathe through my mouth. The underwater sights were beautiful, though :)

Leovi said...

I love it, nice drawing. Yes I snorkel worms. Greetings.

Loree Huebner said...

I have family members who are very artist. They can draw and paint with very little effort. I always wished I could draw or paint. I didn't get that dose of talent in my DNA. I got the stinging-the-words-together talent...which suits me fine.

I love your self portrait! Awesome! You're just a bundle of talent!

Loree Huebner said...

oops...that would be the "stringing"-the-words
tricky fingers this morning...lol.

Sarah Allen said...

Sheesh, someone is multi-talented :) Is there anything you can't do?

Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)

DEZMOND said...

nice art!
I've never been underwater, and I praise God for that LOL

Golden Eagle said...

That's a great painting!

I've never been snorkeling; would love to try, but I think learning how to swim first might help . . .

Unknown said...

Wow, you are amazing.

Cynthia said...

This is great. I wonder what you are looking at in this painting. I have gone snorkeling before- it's so much fun and a great workout too.

Liza said...

Well, I'm impressed. I wish I could paint...but nope. Not even close!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I started painting in oils, but that changed to gouache, which changed to pen and ink (my favourite form of traditional art). Of course, that all changed once I discovered the joys of computer generated art.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

absolutely it counts!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Snorkelling in Malaysia would have been awesome!! I tried a brief reef dive once, but my ears also were sensitive to pressure so I never tried anything deeper.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I'm not holding anything in the image (could just be my dodgey artwork)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

gah! If only I'd known about that sooner!!! lol

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

The movie Jaws has a lot to answer for ;)
Oh wait, there's also those stinging jelly fish, and other nasties in there. I try not to think about it ;)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

oh! That sounds like lots of fun!

Nick Wilford said...

That's a great painting. Seems to jump out at you! I've been scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef and saw a giant clam and turtle. Wow, seems like every day I have a story from Australia to share with you!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Swimming with the fish and feeding them is so much fun! I did that near the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia, once.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

hahaha yeah, it's not always easy. My goggles always leaked, I got water in my breathing pipe and constantly had to stop to adjust. But like you said, the sights are beautiful.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Math

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

If you come to Australia, I might take you to the beach, but I promise not to make you go swimming.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

That's often a good start ;)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

The Great Barrier Reef is the best place for scuba diving. Keep sharing! I love it!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

fanged fish, perhaps? ;)

DEZMOND said...

I will remember your promise :)

Romance Reader said...

Great painting. I used to paint while in school in NZ but back home, I had to leave it to get serious about studies. Maybe later.

Riya

Nancy Thompson said...

Is there anything creative you CAN"T do well? You amaze me, Lynda. I am totally envious!

Cynthia Chapman Willis said...

You are crazy talented. And yes, I have been snorkeling. Loved it. And I love to draw, when I can find the free time.

Marta Szemik said...

I love snorkeling and got my kids addicted too. They're 7 & 9 and do very well in the ocean. It was neat to see onlookers stare when they snorkeled as 4 & 6 yr olds:)

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Last year I went snorkeling for the first time. I took one of those underwater (disposable) cameras. My pictures were terrible, but I had a lot of fun. I hope you get the chance to take some underwater pictures.

Precy Larkins said...

I love it! That's so cool and you are so talented!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Lynda! Great self-portrait. You are very talented. I've never been snorkeling, but have heard that it can be a lot of fun.

Jarm Del Boccio said...

Love the self portrait, Lynda! Yes, I've been snorkeling in Cancun, Cabo San Lucas and the Carribean. I'm awed at the amazing underwater life I have seen!

Carol Riggs said...

Cool pic! Thanks for sharing that. We really did want to see. :)

Nate Wilson said...

Sure, I've dabbled in art. And daubed and dribbled and drizzled. Never used gauche, though. (Never snorkeled, either.)

Fun self-portrait. In my best one, I'm holding a rubber chicken.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

excellent!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

rubber chickens are awesome

Arooj said...

I was wrong it was just blue shade.very nice.

Botanist said...

That is a fantastic painting. Highly original composition, and I love the play of light.

I dabble in art. Tried oils years ago and didn't like the mess. I now use gouache, I like the clarity of color but I do find it tricky to use because it dries so quickly.

Suze said...

Lyn, I love this post! Thank you so much for sharing that image. You are not only talented but I just really appreciate this insight into you. Underwater photography would be a good fit for you, I think -- should you ever have access to the proper equipment.

And, in theory, I'm quite endeared by the cat padding a wicked mess of rainbow across the floor. (In theory.)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

yeah, gouache works very differently to oils. I had the same problem when I went from oils to Gouache as well :)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I will admit I laughed out loud when I first saw the footprints... but then I had to clean it up. Not so easy ;)