This is a pen and watercolour painting done as a proposal for a competition to do a mural painting in a community centre. This was back in the late 90s. I was beaten out by a contemporary artist who painted the wall with four strips of colour, which could have been done in a matter of hours. The community centre was predominantly filled with local kids. I felt so sorry for the kids. Not once did any of them look at the "mural" and when I asked what they thought of the painting on the wall, they said, "What painting?"
A fantastical bullwhale creature with a mix of whale and bull features glides through a vibrant, swirling, blue and orange hues body of water. The colors blend in a mosaic style, enhancing the creature's mythical presence with a composition that creates a sense of movement and depth, capturing an imaginative underwater scene.
Patron Saint of Lost Keys and Small Things.
Reminded me of this poem by Elizabeth Bishop.
One Art
The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.
—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
