I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Georgia Aquarium, located in downtown Atlanta. This is the world’s largest aquarium. This was my second trip and I came away just as impressed if not more.
My two favorite exhibits are the Coldwater Quest, the Beluga whales and the Ocean Voyager. I could spend hours sitting in front of each of these magnificent tanks. As I sat and watched the beluga whales I found myself overcome with emotions of serenity, peace and awe. I was amazed how these huge animals could swim so gracefully, spinning and swimming upside down as they easily glide through the water. Here is a link to the web cam: (http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/explore-the-aquarium/interact/web-cam-bel...)
When I was at the aquarium in 2009 I came home with a strong desire to paint the whales but wasn’t really sure why. When I broached the subject with my teacher, Fred, he strongly discouraged me from painting them because I don’t know about Beluga whales. So, I never did paint the whales but now I know why I want to paint them. As an artist I want to share my emotional experience of watching these massive mammals. It is a great challenge to bring that same emotion to the viewers of my beluga whale paintings. Painting the whales will allow me to reflect on the emotional experience while I was actually at the aquarium. I was able to video the whales too so that will be aide my sometimes weak visual memory. Join me as I work through this painting. I welcome your comments. Thanks for stopping by to read my blog!
I wish you JOY today.