2020 #7 Topic introduction: Under The Sea

 2020 Topic 7: Under The Sea

Hi everyone, Keren here with our new topic; the mysterious, murky and magical sea; or at least, under the sea. Under the sea is an unusual expression as mostly we tend to mean 'in the sea' rather than under it. If you're of an imaginative disposition, I suspect you'll be conjuring up images of ship wrecks, giant whale-like beasts, mermaids, mermen and the like. The oceans are teeming with galleons full of inspiration and I've sought to fish out a few ideas for you.

Some watery wonders are in evidence on the PaperArtsy blog, so I've begun with some lovely stencilling from Scrapcosy (aka as Raquel Burillo) using her own design products for PaperArtsy.

PaperArtsy Blog

Zinski Art has some lovely stamps that would work well with this theme. Lauren created these fab projects using them;

PaperArtsy Blog

This next project really caught my eye on the blog. Chris Dark created this hand lettered part of her project using words from 'Under The Sea'. I love how the design echoes the waves and even looks a little like a school of fish.

PaperArtsy Blog 

This partially submerged female is a wonderful contrast of dark and light. Beautiful art from the artist HilaryJane.

HilaryJane

Staying submerged, this is a stunning photograph showing the transparency of jellyfish. This would be an interesting technique to use in our artist projects- whether you're playing around with acetate and vellum or maybe using the transparent and opaque PaperArtsy Fresco paints.

The Guardian

Choosing some embroidery was hard as there were many pieces- but this one had it all: texture, dimension and playing beyond the borders of the substrate. I could see you getting similar textures with paint and using drips to create an effect. The bottom develops into almost a mermaid tail.

Ana Teresa Barboza

Back to something paper-based, and following on from the theme of mermaids, this is a lovely journal page full of light and sparkle.

Willowing

The power of waves is mesmerising. Seeing undulating waves crash and foam over and over would make a great start to an artistic response. This ceramic artist has created something very fluid looking which is a real feat using clay.

Denise Romecki

Creatures from the deep hold real fascination for us, and the jellyfish with over 2000 known species are definitely one of them. This quilted piece cleverly uses the quilting patterns to draw the design of the tentacles.

White Arbor Quilting 

Watercolour seems to provide such a perfect accompaniment to the sea theme. This is a very beautiful and soft colour scheme. Love how the shells seem as if they're popping off the page.

Alisa Burke

I love the idea of painting onto a shape. The shell has been formed by clay too.The ridges help give the illusion of waves lapping against the shore.

Martimm

There's so much delightful texture in these cards. The thread seems to make it look like the plants are moving with the current of the water.

 Lesia Zgharda Blog

The plant life under the sea is full of colour and pattern. This lovely embroidery piece uses beads for some of the coral.

 Stitch By Karen

I thought this next piece was sublime. A clever use of the wave pattern.

Fubiz

You can find some incredible and almost 'out of this world' looks on the sea bed. This sculptural piece has some awesome glazing effects too.

 Danielle Wood

This picture is a small section of a tunnel book journal (do check out the rest of the book via the link). Notice the clever little vial details on the right hand side.

Ingrid Dijkers 

The mighty whales are some of the kings of the ocean. What beautiful water-colouring with bubble 'splatters'.

Slaveika Aladjova

Using above and below the sea-line is a lovely concept. Such a fab whimsical style of illustration too.

Svabhu Kohli 

Lots of mixed media textures in this gorgeous frame. Love the twine and 'sand' textures.

Brenda Brown

If texture is more your thing, how about creating your own sea-inspired patterned panels or master-board. This piece of wallpaper shows that you could use any leaf image and colour it a coral colour.

Natty & Polly

The last project seemed to be perfectly homogeneous- using salt which is found in the ocean to create texture in the oceanic painted areas. Love the art-deco feel to it too.

Tamara Phillips

So many, many ways to explore this topic; fantasy or factual, use textured inspiration or true-to-life illustrations. From animals, mermaids, plant life or waves, we can dive deep into the unknown and see what the ocean births.

If you want to create along with us, please share on our social feeds so we can see what you get up to. The best places are Instagram @paperartsy or post in PaperArtsy People Group on Facebook. Make sure you tag us in your contributions, we love to see what you get up to in your creative world!