Plastic Ocean

Once begun is half done(I hope)! I don't do much in the way of sketching.  My sketching is done to indicate  where to put masking fluid.  I work in acrylics,but I prefer a watercolor style. I like the effects that can be created by thinning acrylic to watercolor consistency.
This is really the first "layer".  I will add more detail with each layer.
This is what the next step looks like:

From Plastic Ocean

Art in progress

So,I just decided to (finally)begin a project that I have been thinking about for awhile.  After last month's vacation,with all the trash I found in the Ocean,I have decided to attack this issue(with my paint brush,this time).
Most of my painting work is done in my head.  Yes,it's true, at least 60% of art work is the time that I spend planning the painting.  Most of my paintings are involved with trying to project the magical feeling of floating with the beautiful creatures of the Ocean.  It is true that there are not very many other places on Earth that you can get so close to truly wild animals!  So, that is what I have always preferred to portray in my work.
This time I think that I will proceed as if the painting is more of a still life.  I preface this by saying that I have never liked still life,since I was an art student!  For one thing,"still life" is such an oxymoron!  Life is not still,life is constant motion. 
Never the less,this is how I have decided to approach this painting.  The working title is "Plastic Ocean",not really original,just a popular saying with some of the environmental groups that I follow.
So I start this painting with a photo of a collage that I made of various types of trash. I don't think I will use all of it in the final work,just needed a jumping off point.
This is the beginning of the project(though,I have been conceptualizing the beginning for some time).
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XmqVqNKOCnPgOcWlthSShX8F6n9l3Pq47hCXdJ8Rpn0?feat=directlinkhttps://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XmqVqNKOCnPgOcWlthSShX8F6n9l3Pq47hCXdJ8Rpn0?feat=directlink

About Art

People keep telling me that I should be writing about my art.  Hmmm,since a picture is worth a thousand words,that could be difficult. Still, I should at least try.  Since my work is directly influenced by my diving, I will start by discussing a little of that,first.  My recent diving experiences have shown me that the Oceans are in a state of decline.  I have seen it first hand.
My paintings have always been about the beauty and the joy that I feel when I am able to visit the Ocean.  Now, I feel, I must come back to reality,a least for a painting or two.
Recently, my husband and I visited our favorite beach in Florida.  We have been vacationing at this beach for at least seven years.  This year we arrived early,on Labor Day weekend.
The beach was packed on that day,more people than we have ever seen at this beach.  As we walked along the beach, we noticed a large amount of trash.  All kinds of trash,but most notably,plastics. Unfortunately, this trend is not new. We began gathering bits as we walked.  Plastic grocery bags,fishing line,plastic sandwich bags,bits of plastic children's toys,plastic water bottles,plastic coffee can lids,plastic sun glass frames,single serve plastic coffee machine cups,and one half empty can of WD-40 oil,just some of the items that we retrieved. In just a short,1/2 mile walk,we both had our hands completely full.
This area of Florida( the east coast) has a three tiered reef system.  It is close enough to swim to from shore.  My husband and I try to include a visit to our favorite "house reef" each time we visit.
You know how you have that one Aunt(could be Uncle or Cousin,for that matter),who you only see once a year?  If they loose twenty pounds,people who see them every day might not notice.  Because you only see them that one time a year, you can really notice how much they have lost.  This reef has been that favorite "Aunt" for us.  Every year that we go back to visit, we notice a little bit more of the reef that has simply disappeared.  
I don't pretend to know the cause,let alone the solution.  If I lived there full time, I might be able to help with the problem.
So for now,I can only write about it,and create art about it.  My sincerest hope is that I can in small way be "a part of the solution",more than I am "a part of the problem"
Meantime, here is the video that we created while we were visiting Florida,this year!