Deep Blue
Deep Blue (2012)
18½×23¾ Pastel on Pastel Paper
Original is Available
Sometimes when all seems lost, when your last hope has sailed off into the sunset, an unimaginable salvation comes to your rescue from out of the Deep Blue.
For this piece, I wanted to step outside of everyday realism and venture into the world of folklore and fantasy. Capturing a fluid, weightless environment in pastel requires a delicate balance of light and layers. I focused heavily on the way sunlight refracts through moving water, mapping out the shimmering caustic light patterns across the fabric of the wet white clothing and the skin of both figures. Blending the soft textures of the underwater background with the sharp, powerful lines of the muscular merman allowed me to ground this mythical encounter with a real sense of physical presence, depth, and emotional high stakes.
