With my previous series going so well my confidence was boosted and I found my skills in sketching had drastically improved. After snorkelling in the Caribbean, I remember coming across a s a chain Moray eel with its beautiful complex yellow markings. This is where the first drop of life piece inspiration came from and I feel this series was meant to be and it aligns with me in so many ways.
In this series I wanted to underline important habitats for wildlife across the globe, to educate engage and inspire people to do their bit to help the natural world. There were several layers to this series which I will explain in this blog, its worth the wait, so dive in...
Thirdly, I wanted people to take action and realise that even though they're only one person they can make a difference. ...if you imagine each person as an individual drop when those individual efforts are combined those drops make up the huge ocean, I can't remember where I heard this proverb but it means we can make a difference. We need to remember, whatever we do, it starts small and like a ripple adds up to make a wider difference.
Finally, I wanted to underline the urgency of this a lot of our habitats are on the brink of change that may not be reversible. The phrase used in Spanish for this is: "es la gota que colma el vaso". The literal translation is "it's the last drop that overflows the vase". I think this is really important when we think about our natural world... we need to make sure that we protect it, because a lot of the systems on our planet are vulnerable, and we need to make sure we protect and prioritise them. It links to the title of the is series well.
The first layer was scientific...the fact that all life begins with one drop of water… if you think about it, space exploration is always looking for life on another planet by exploring the presence of water so it's essential to all life we know.
Secondly, water magnifies and provides clarity, for example, when you put snorkel mask on and you submerge yourself, all the Life beneath becomes crystal clear, almost suddenly, after you pass the blurry surface. This highlighted how the series could educate and give people insight into word they might not know will be aware of before.
So how did I complete this series? Well, what better medium to use in this series than watercolour, it is activated by a drop of water too. I told you there were several layers to this series. I think this is why I found the series so important and personal, a drop reflects how I have an idea in my mind... ...when I have an idea it's not a light bulb for me, instead it's like a drop, growing as I think about it, and only when it drops onto the metaphorical page below, can I act on it. Then the magic happens, colourful and vibrant ideas from that single drop of inspiration that grow and grow like a ripple.
I certainly was inspired by this series, creating eight habitats with over 40 pieces, I really enjoyed getting back to watercolour, my favourite medium. I also explored loved exploring larger scale paintings from A5 to A2.
So what next? ... well I'll be developing these pieces into some of my best products yet, so keep an eye out in my gallery on my social media for updates as I continue to do this. You can do this by using the hash tag #dropoflife2022
As part of the sales of these products I want to give back to charities helping to protect the natural world so if you have any suggestions you can contact me with ideas by using the tab on my website.
Just remember even though you are one person your efforts count like that drop growing ripple and the mighty ocean of us all combined. If you got to the end of this blog, thank you for reading, this has been my favourite series yet!
