Sunday, May 31, 2009

The Fish Mobile

When I started posting fish ACEOs last week, I mentioned that I was influenced by a fish mobile hanging in my sunroom. Here are some photos of it. It was given to me years ago as a souvenir by a friend who took a tropical vacation.

The fish I'm using in my ACEOs are all cut from templates; they're not cut freehand. I like using stylized fish shapes.
The repetition reinforces the idea that they're of a family and belong together.

I traced around the fish in my mobile to create my templates and then modified the shapes to be:
  • easier to cut out
  • good sizes to fit within the ACEOs
  • recognizable as fish
  • pleasing shapes
I'm influenced, too, by Matisse's paper cutouts. I've always liked them. They're cheerful and lively -- full of life and color and movement. His cutouts are playful yet powerful.

Although I don't expect my simple little fishies to be powerful, they are playful. And it's ok to be a serious artist and yet be playful.

See more fishies in my Etsy shop: http://lifeneedsart.etsy.com

4 comments:

Expressions By Devin said...

i love the fish.They are so fun and colorful.They look awesome in your sun room.Great blog!!!

lifeneedsart said...

Thanks, Devin!

Kathleen said...

Fun to know where you got your idea for all the fishies =) Thanks for sharing. I love this series.

lifeneedsart said...

Ideas turn up in the darnedest places, don't they? ;)