Music Mosaic - Painting Water

Something I found intriguing and familiar in the reading was the author's reference to seasickness of the Greenland Eskimos, “the reflex from the mirror-like water hypnotizes him, he seems to be unable to move, and all of a sudden it is as if he were floating in a bottomless void, sinking, sinking, and sinking…” This description caused me to reflect on the stillness of water and the ways this stillness can be broken. Using my chosen music and medium I experimented with the properties of water to reflect my thoughts on movement, disorientation, and the relationship between the two.

The above portrayal of seasickness reminded me of my own experience with the ocean. As a scuba diver I have felt some of the strange occurrences that come from being suspended dozens of feet below the surface. It can be a very peaceful experience, but occasionally disorientation sets in and up can no longer be discerned from the surrounding ocean. Direction must found by finding meaning in reference, such as seeing the sunlight filtering down from above or considering the movement of sea life. I was impressed by the art of Amelia Watanabe Daines'. Seeing how she layered and blended colors inspired me to try the same effect to paint water and light. All of the images I created incorporated this idea. Some were meant to have no proper direction of up or down while others represent water’s interaction with various elements to suggest a surface.   

I selected the song “Make a Wish” by Secret Garden for its calm and complexity. The music reminded me of several aspects of water. The beginning recalled images of a still surface being broken by small impacts and gusts of wind, causing ripples. As the music unfolds more instruments and melodies are brought in to create layered orchestration. To represent this change my images evolved from simple experiments with blue to including the color purple and a variety of brush stroke techniques. Additionally, just as the music contains elements of hard (quick notes with a short attack and sustain) and soft (notes that linger and fade) I explored creating the same effect with different textures and shade. I accomplished this by using different amounts of water on my brush. The result was a contrast between blended strokes and crisp lines and blots. I also included sketches intentionally given bold lines to stand out against softer backgrounds to further explore my thoughts on still water being broken by outside influence, such as when a leaf falls on the surface creating omnidirectional ripples, or how a fish moves the water around it to create gentle disturbance.

Although the feeling of disorientation suggests panic, I focused on the calm that always accompanies my interaction with water. Just as the violin in "Make a Wish" swells, seeming to swirl around and lift the accompanied orchestra, water encircles all within it in an suspended, ever-changing embrace.

                    

Watanabe Watercolors - Amelia Watanabe Daines