The deep blue sea, the darkness of an undersea world, as illuminated by the flickering light from above. A place where representational meets abstract in the recesses of the mind. As a young boy I loved to swim and especially underwater.
Growing up, I learned to swim at the YMCA, then we had a pool in our backyard. I’d spend hours swimming, doing circles and swimming back and forth across he middle underwater. In boy scout camp, I remember one camping trip in particular spent tenting, canoeing and swimming. Once I had swam out pretty far into the lake and decided to dive deep as I could. I was pretty good at holding my breath, so after one deep breath I dove to the bottom of the lake, some 15-20 feet or so, opened my eyes and magic, that was it. The water was green, the light flickered from above and I could see the plants, slimed with algae and fish swimming by me close. I was amazed, tickled & wanted to stay down there forever. Thinking back It was my, obscure reference #1, Incredible Mr. Limpit moment. A story about a man who loves the sea so much he dreams of being a fish and then is one. Flipper, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea & Jacques Cousteau, obscure reference #2, were all favorite TV shows, I’d watch regularly in awe in deep fascination. I had even thought of being a n Oceanographer in middle school, then swimming with and photographing the ocean seas creatures in my teens and early 20s.
At 57, I’ve finally booked a charter to go snorkeling for the first time. Our road trip included a 4 day stop in Key West, Florida, so I found a charter that left off of Stock Island in Key West. It was a Wild About Dolphins excursions. We choose the 3.5 hour trip. Tara, our guide was fantastic, as the pups came along for the boat ride and she watched after them so we could snorkel. After watching a couple pods of Dolphins, one that had a baby swimming with them, we headed for Casa Rocks, 2-3 ,miles off the island shore. Don, my husband, & I went in together, after testing the water to see if we needed wet suits or not. The water was about 75 degrees so we opted to swim without, although they would have made us more buoyant & offered some protection from the sea critters. Tara gave excellent instructions as she passed us the flippers, mask & snorkel. After getting in the water, I realized I hadn’t swam in over a decide and its a lot of work, so we went back for noodles, a float assist, so we could focus on getting used to the flippers , mask and snorkel…& breath through your mouth, not your nose…ha. I swam over the reef, repeatedly made that mental note and stuck my face in the water.
Wow, so amazing, a great variety of & hundreds and hundreds of sea critters, all living together. There were so many different types and some in large schools, it was hard to keep track of all that I was looking at. That said, the ones that stood out were several Yellow Tangs, a large Parrot Fish, what I think was a Spider Crab & a Moon Jellyfish, that I made sure to keep mt distance from. It was thrilling to watch them all do there thing, in the community around the living coral reef, 3rd largest in the world. As I often do, I just kept thinking symbiotics, symbiotics. Most life either gets it or just lives it instinctively…then I think, humans? Try as we may, a large percent just doesn’t get it. In my way of thinking, all of life needs and relies on these relationships or survival, and the patterns made echo across all life. By definition though, its more directly related to, 2 species mutual dependency for survival, like anemone & a clown fish. Symbiosis is a close ecological relationship between the individuals of two (or more) different species. Sometimes a symbiotic relationship benefits both species, sometimes one species benefits at the other's expense, and in other cases neither species benefits, so ask which are you and be it.
I have watched & read a fair amount of non fiction & documentary on sea life, and in particular, endangered whales. This painting is based on an image from one such educational opp & experience, that I’ve translated into a painting, charged with my thoughts, emotions & favorite color…blue. Plus the thrill eagerly anticipated entrance of the whole undersea world’s life, in it's abundance & glory. Snorkeling was a great thrill that I intend to do again, until then, I paint the world I live in, as I see & experience it.
6 different blues, a green, violet, magenta, 3 yellows, white, on canvas using an arsenal of paint brushes, palette knives & other implements were all used in combinations to create this piece. As always, your comments & questions are welcome~ Richard Sperry
‘Caverns’ 24”x24” oil
Caverns 24"x24" oil
Me snorkeling for the first time, in Key West 2022..