#artthoughts

J.M.W. Turner, 1839, Oil on canvas

This is Turner at his most poetic — a ghost ship and a sunset, saying goodbye to an era.

The painting shows the HMS Temeraire, a legendary warship from the Battle of Trafalgar, being towed by a small steam tug to be scrapped. Once mighty and heroic, she’s now a pale silhouette, fading into the evening light. The contrast between the glowing sunset and the black smoke of the tugboat says everything: the age of sails is over, and the industrial age is here — smaller, grittier, louder.

Turner didn’t just paint what he saw. He painted what it meant. This isn’t just about a ship. It’s about loss, change, and the bittersweet end of glory.

"2000s high school film"

- Digital collage composition

Finished Persephone’s sketch tonight. 🌸

I gave her orchid tattoos on her cheeks

flowers that never fade, even in shadow.

Canvas painting with story.

You can scream but it doesn't mean you will be heard.

There is a barrier between us.

It doesn't matter how many words I use, if it sounds wise or if it's a child's explanation. It doesn't matter how loud it is.

How it took a whole year and six pieces to evolve a concept

Sometimes you have a great idea, but the finished art looks a lot worse than how you imagined it, and that’s okay! You can always shelve it and come back to it later when you have a lightbulb moment on how to improve it. In my case it took multiple iterations as well as a style evolution throughout the process.

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1. Aquarium II - Nov 14, 2021

I started with a pretty solid idea of fish inside glass baubles of water, with a palette of yellow, orange, pink, lavender, and sky blue. I kind of like how the design turned out with the filigree and the cats, but the palette just wasn’t working out. It’s probably because I didn’t put in enough contrast and dark areas, but I hit a wall with this one and put it aside, unfinished.

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2. Koi Pond (Winter) - Jan 3, 2022

Using the palette of ‘Aquarium II’ as well as the two circling koi, I expanded it into a pond of circling fish. I did like this one and even made an animation of the fish swimming, but it still felt like something was missing.

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3. Circular Motion - Feb 21, 2022

I decided to go full Escher with the fish tessellation (everything is flush, no spaces between) and also push the palette and contrast. I really didn’t like the result. The colours look dull and bland, and the fish look weird. It was partly because of this piece that I decided I wouldn’t do perfect tessellations if it made the animals look weird.

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4. Aquarium - May 25, 2022

The first true success from this concept! This is part of the trio that uses the same palette, including ‘Arboretum’ and ‘Archives’. I put the aquatic creatures in clear baubles once again, and my lineart style is more established at this time.

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5. Koi Pond - Jun 18, 2022

I fell in love with this palette of yellow, orange, pink, green, and dark green. It’s just a recolour of the previous ‘Koi Pond (Winter)’, but the lines feel wishy-washy to me now that my style has thicker lineart.

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6. Flow - Dec 21, 2022

The final success of this concept! This is part of another trio that includes ‘Flock’ and the upcoming ‘Flutter’. I kept to the theme by adding cats observing the main subject, and used a minimal palette so that the center koi would stand out more.

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