Day 4: "underwater"

[asakiyume]

Another possibility I considered was a world of huge inverted mountains--icebergs, as seen from underwater, a world of floating mountains. But it was too cold; I didn't want to draw a cold thing. (I haven't checked ahead to see if there's a prompt "cold" or not.)



When we imagine the world above water, we focus (usually) on the floor of the world--the ground underneath our feet and the things that spring from it and, like us, walk on it, but when we think of the world underwater, we focus (usually) not on the ground level, but on the air (except it's underwater, so it's not air; it's water) above. Imagine if it were that way above water and most of our landscapes were airscapes. But we're bottom dwellers in the world above water, so that's what we depict.

Comments

[okrablossom]

Those are amazing! Wow! Reminds me of Agnes Arber.

[okrablossom]

Sorry to post twice/pester but this would make a lovely greeting card. Oooh...

[amaebi]

I. Love. That. Drawing.

[osprey_archer]

we're bottom dwellers in the world above water

Ooooh - I love that - although it seems almost sad. Like a quote from a lost poem, though.

And beautiful drawing. (Have you ever thought of selling any of your drawings or photos as greeting cards? I saw someone else mention it up above, and it definitely seems promising.)

Lovely!

[light_of_summer]

Oo, that's a lovely drawing! (Water lilies? Lotuses?) The plants and the fish complement each other so well!

I love the streamlined shapes and graceful movement of fish, in general. The way you've rendered these particular fish seems to me to communicate a moment of shared thought or inquiry, which goes very well with your beautiful thoughts about human point of view, both above and below water.

Oddly, I can provide one counterexample to your thought about us (generally) depicting landscapes, rather than airscapes. My last neighborhood was pleasant, but didn't make for good photographic landscapes. I took a lot of close-ups of flowers and insects, but also long shots of clouds. Most of the cloud photos weren't really satisfying on their own. So, at one point, I composed several of them into a virtual "quilt," which I remain very happy with: https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/light_of_summer/10496101/310470/310470_original.jpg

[light_of_summer]

Huh! For me, sky and ocean feel very distinct from each other, so feeling them similar is a very new thought for me to try on.

...I have to ask, but please feel free not to answer: when dreaming about wading through clouds like surf, could you tell what you were standing on? I can't quite picture whether sky became ocean, with sand below and air above, or if sky stayed in its usual position but you were so tall that the clouds were around your legs, or what.

*curious mind is curious, but willing to do without an answer*

[sovay]

But we're bottom dwellers in the world above water, so that's what we depict.

I really, really like this one.

("Oh, tree! Eat the fish!")

[sovay]

One of Gordon Bok's albums I've been trying to track down for years is called Another Land Made of Water (1979). We didn't have a copy in my house when I was growing up and I think I've never heard it.

[umadoshi]

That is beautiful! *^^*

[queenoftheskies]

I love this. It feels so peaceful and free.

[rachelmanija]

Lovely! The fishies are adorable.

[ivy]

I have often thought about what it would be like to be able to easily move through three dimensions in the way that we can through two. I think that's part of why flying a helicopter was so satisfying for me... you can actually do that. Every so often, the world is like your dreams, and that's mind-blowing.