My sister
loves going to the aquarium. Wherever we go, she wants to know if there is an aquarium. The most awesome one I've ever been to is Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. It has a kelp forest. You can watch it online .
When I was making my big Father's Day tangle, I asked my sister what to put in. She wanted Fish and Kelp. So, I fooled around until I came up with a good tangle.
Kelp has a central stalk. If you get a look up close, it seems to have a stringy quality. It looks rope-like and tough, but not twisted.
Here's how to make the tangle. This one is easy, just try not to hold your pen too tight when you make the curvy lines. Keep the pen moving and don't sweat the direction too much. Kelp leaves go all over the place.
Draw a wiggly line to be the kelp stalk. Or draw a straight one if you want.
Drag your pen up the wiggly line a couple more times. Don't try to stay on the line, just go along it and leave it at some point to go off to the edge of the space. Do that a few times. Those will be the middles of your leaves.
Next, draw a fish or two. Maybe a little jelly fish or a squidlet.
Then start on the stalk and do a swoopy line around each leaf center. Don't be too careful. If it crosses the leaf center, that's okay, the leaf will just be twisted, cool!
Draw a bubble or two. Kelp has lots of bubbles.
I use dots to mean water. I just fill in with dots all around.
I colored this one. Once again, there's the old problem of deciding when to stop. I really wanted this to have green leaves. So I did that. Then, I put the fish in water, but to color it all in would be too much. So, I dabbed the dots.
I like dots. If they're good enough for the Australian Aboriginal Painters, the Egyptians, and the Inuit, then they are good enough for me. Dots are cool.
I'm liking this tangle more and more. Maybe I'll do a Hammerhead in the next one.
David W.
4 comments:
Zoe wanted me to tell you all that the fish is a Garibaldi. They live in the Kelp forests.
Garibaldi are bright orange; brighter than goldfish. They will stake out an area and defend it like a hummingbird defends a feeder.
She didn't want people to think that David was dumb enough to put a fresh water goldfish or koi into a kelp forest.
So, for Zoe . . .
I like that you aren't afraid to use color. The wavy line of the kelp makes this so dynamic, it really draws me in. It was fun to examine this and find the little details.
Kelp forests are amazing, mysterious places. You've done an excellent job capturing how they manage to be as stable as trees, but as flowing as grass.
Great reading your blog ppost
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