(Excerpts from a project journal started in mid Jan 2013)
WHAT WOULD YOU PAINT?
Here's the challenge I was up against this week: create a work of art for the wall of a restaurant in a little resort on the edge of this remote sandy beach, with an underwater reef world just a few feet below the surface of these azure Pacific waters...
Here's the challenge I was up against this week: create a work of art for the wall of a restaurant in a little resort on the edge of this remote sandy beach, with an underwater reef world just a few feet below the surface of these azure Pacific waters...
DAY ONE:
We have arrived at Nacula Island - to a warm welcome by the staff who have gathered on the beach to serenade us as we jump off the boat. The 4 hour trip from Port Denarau to the northern part of the Yasawa island chain has been a feast for the eyes - spectacular scenery: the jagged peaks of the Yasawas, remnants of volcanoes erupting along tectonic plate collision lines in the distant past, rise up steeply out of turquoise waters - and a school of dolphins bursts through the waves at one point - triggering a collective WOW from the dozens of passengers crowded on to the open deck of the Yasawa Flyer.
We have arrived at Nacula Island - to a warm welcome by the staff who have gathered on the beach to serenade us as we jump off the boat. The 4 hour trip from Port Denarau to the northern part of the Yasawa island chain has been a feast for the eyes - spectacular scenery: the jagged peaks of the Yasawas, remnants of volcanoes erupting along tectonic plate collision lines in the distant past, rise up steeply out of turquoise waters - and a school of dolphins bursts through the waves at one point - triggering a collective WOW from the dozens of passengers crowded on to the open deck of the Yasawa Flyer.
My two travel companions, Lomani
and Sophia, rush to unpack their swim togs and snorkelling masks. My luggage is
a little different: 5 canvas boards, sketching paper, acrylic paints, and
brushes!
DAY TWO: Gathering Ideas… Up early for a morning walk along the beach.
The high tide has erased all of yesterday's footprints so I'm the first to make
new ones... Here are a few shots of the natural beauty around me that caught my
attention
DAY TWO: The blank canvas moment:
always a little daunting! (and doesn't that hammock right next to my new
workplace look very inviting!!)
DAY THREE: A pair of White-Collared
Kingfishers keeps swooping through the tree tops around our bure, the turquoise
plumage on their backs glinting iridescent in the sunlight. They are amongst my
favourite Fiji birds - so I can't resist adding one into my mural!
This is typical of the way my
paintings evolve - lots of separate sketches which I cut out and move around
until the pieces of the puzzle all fit together and I have my master plan! I
then ink over the final lines before transferring the drawing to the board,
silk, or barkcloth I will paint on...
AFTERNOON OF DAY THREE: On a roll now with
preliminary sketches. My theme is the tropical reefs that are such a feature of
life in the Yasawas - with references to traditional Fijian culture and island
flora and fauna thrown in. The amazing and ever-changing hues of the lagoon
just yards away from where I'm working will be the dominant colours for my
five-part mural...
DAY FOUR of the Blue Lagoon Project:
Have you ever tried to draw a STONE FISH? Turns out that the stone fish
(kaseva) is one of the totem animals for the mataqali (indigenous clan) that
owns the land on which Blue Lagoon Beach Resort is built. All tribal units in Fijian society have totem plants
and animals that are a significant part of their identity. When creating art
for a certain locality, I like to make reference to these, as a mark of respect
to the traditional owners of the land.
In discussing this with the staff at Blue Lagoon, most of whom come from nearby Nacula Village, I learn that here, the kaseva and vudi (plantain or green banana) are of significance to the landowners, as are the vadra (screw pine) and vasua (clams). So my drawings, which are now complete, include all four totems...
In discussing this with the staff at Blue Lagoon, most of whom come from nearby Nacula Village, I learn that here, the kaseva and vudi (plantain or green banana) are of significance to the landowners, as are the vadra (screw pine) and vasua (clams). So my drawings, which are now complete, include all four totems...
Further installments of my Blue Lagoon Project Journal to be posted shortly!
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