Apparently, jellyfish is a misnomer; except for the fact that they live underwater, jellies have no relation to fish at all.  I find them fabulous, strangely beautiful and sensuous. There are so many different species–kaleidoscopically colorful, even bioluminescent and fluorescent, particularly in the deepest and coldest seas.  There are creatures no bigger than my thumbnail and others that grow as large as six feet in diameter with tentacles more than twenty feet long.  What I enjoy most about painting jellies is the challenge of creating transparency and movement on a solid and stationary surface.  And the colors on some of them!

Modern Family

I painted Modern Family a couple of years ago, choosing to group some of my favorite species on one canvas.  As I painted, I started to think of the big guy as the head of the family with the little woman to his right (she’s quite the looker); the twins are on the left with their younger brother, who wants to tag along, and their sister is on the right, swimming off on her own.  Sometimes titles come easy.

Out of Reach

I just finished painting Out of Reach, a portrait of a stinger jellyfish found in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The color of the water is drawn from my memories of the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, a place we visited almost twenty five years ago.  Heaven…