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Seolhe — Peaceful in the Deep
#bottlenose #cetacean #dolphin #humpback #ocean #water #whale
Published: 2015-06-01 00:33:06 +0000 UTC; Views: 3403; Favourites: 44; Downloads: 7
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Description
First time drawing humpback whales and first time drawing bottlenose dolphins. Humpbacks are my second favourite cetaceans, and bottlenose dolphins are the only ones I've actually seen in real life (both in captivity and the wild), so they are both species I've been meaning to draw eventually. I wanted to draw something dreamlike and peaceful, painting watery motives and using lots and lots of blue is therapeutic for me, so I found this quite pleasant to work on, even if the humpbacks were really challenging.Title from the song Never let me go by Florence + The Machine.
Attempted to finish this in May, but seems like I'm about 2 hours too late
(Still gonna count this for May, so suck it!)
P.S. I know the dolphins should be smaller compared to the humpbacks, but I didn't want them to be too small, so whatever. It's not like I was aiming for any extreme realism
Various references from google as well as some of my personal photos from Kolmården.
Resources:
Background 05 1600X1200
Water Texture
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Comments: 24
Wow this is surly on of the most amazing cetacean art iv seen on da! the way the lineart is plus the detail and colouring put togetor is great you put amazing detail into it Plus the water is amazing Great job 
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Oh wow, thank you!
That's such an incredibly sweet comment, reading that really brightened my day <3
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Welcome <3 Always feels nice to make someones day <3 <3 <3 <3
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Somehow this alluded me until now
this is absolutely gorgeous!! I have
a such a love of humpbacks omg I
need to draw some soon ;-;
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Thank you <3
Humpbacks are my second favourite cetacean species, they are so incredibly beautiful! I really hope I'll get to see some when I'm up in Norway
And I'd love to see you draw some humpbacks!
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I absolutely adore the reflective light on their bodies, it definitely helps their forms engage with the environment. And I think they're still pretty damn realistic, you've always had an eye for that! 
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I'm glad to hear that, thank you!
Haven't seen you on dA for quite a while, btw, so it's nice to see you in my inbox again
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No problem!
And yeh, thought I'd dust some things off. I only get to see snippets of art on facebook, but I figure it's time to make use of this account again x3
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Well, it's good to have you back c:
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Yaaaaay! We'll see what I can do hehe
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Oh, Ofelia, this is just... I can't even express it. The patterns of the light through the water and all those different shades of blue - I can tell this was peaceful to work on, because it's peaceful just to look at. It makes me feel so calm and contained, I love it, what a wonderful job you've done. <3
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Thank you, I'm glad you like it! 
There's just something about water that automatically makes me feel happy and peaceful, and whales have that same effect on me, so yeah, it really is no wonder that working on this was relaxing XD
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It's not always about the realism. Sometimes it's more about creating a feeling than a photograph-like scene.
Several years ago, while we were vacationing in Québec, my family and I went on a whale-watching excursion. We had the privileged of seeing a Minke whale feeding up close. It was so amazingly magical and serene. This painting reminds me of that experience.
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Oh yeah, I absolutely agree with that! While I think the ability to create realistic artwork is very impressive, one of the things I love about art is how it can go beyond reality, and when I draw I usually care more about creating something I find beautiful than trying to make things as realistic as possible
That sounds wonderful!
I'm going to Tysfjord, Norway this winter to go whale watching and snorkeling with wild orcas. Aside from orcas, there are good chances of seeing humpback and fin whales as well. I really can't wait!
The only time I've been lucky enough to see wild cetaceans before was when I was in Greece back in 2006. I spotted a couple of dolphins from our boat when we were out at sea, I only saw the dorsal fins, and they were quite far away, but based on the location, I'm almost certain they were bottlenose dolphins
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That sounds like a lot of fun! Orcas are one of my favorite cetaceans, as well, so I'm frankly envious of your plans. Seeing dolphins from a boat is fun, too, though. And bottlenoses are certainly common. I hope you have fun in Norway!
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Orcas are my favourite animal, period, so I'm really thrilled about this trip. I've been planning it for years, but always had to postpone it for one reason or another, but now it's finally happening
Thank you!
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