“CEPHALOPODS”
Create an artwork of a cephalopod: a nautilus, an octopus, a cuttlefish, a squid, or others!
Lee Ann Delany
Prize winner
Canada
Nautilus Too
alcohol based marker & colored pencil on toned paper
8″ x 6″
“Colored pencil is a wonderful portable medium and I love the rich effects you get when you layer the colored pencil. I added some alcohol markers for more depth and for the some blending effects.”
Ate
pencil on paper
14″ x 11″
“I decided to incorporate the Art Prof Dare in to my daily drawing practice. I also wanted to work on a more complex drawing covering the entire surface of the paper. I worked on this one over a few days.”
Amy Bao
Honorable Mention
USA
amyxbao.com
Grilled Octopus
watercolor
6″ x 6″
“The Greek islands are one my favorite places in the world, and the thought of grilled octopus always takes me back there. The September Art Dare allowed me to explore this intersection of food, memory, and place.”
The Chambered Nautilus
pen & ink
11″ x 14″
“I’ve always loved Oliver Wendell Holmes poem ‘The Chambered Nautilus,’ so when I saw this Art Dare, I knew it would be interesting to incorporate the text into an image of the nautilus. It was a challenge to make all the lines of the poem fit properly, which took a little bit of experimentation.”
Heather
Dance of the Jellyfish
ceramic
3″ x 3″ x 3′
USA
“I wanted the jellyfish to look like they were dancing a ballet together.”
Diane Foley
USA
@tantele1
“A BBC nature show on the octopus inspired me to make these pieces. As a kind of puzzle challenge, I make animal forms from fonts using the spelling of the animal’s name.
The letter forms in particular fonts guide the work. The Bambusa font and ornamentals immediately suggested the forms of the octopus. The eggs are the counters in the letter ‘O.'”
Mother Octopus, Octopus paints with ink
digital
dimensions variable
Bo Zhang
Miss Octopus
watercolor on paper
5.8″ x 4.1″
The Netherlands
@boboaboz
“I’ve always been fascinated by octopuses (octopodes? octopi?) especially by their weirdly elegant movement. I met this lovely lady at Aquaworld Aquarium & Reptile Rescue Center in Hersonkssos, Greece.
She drew my attention at first sight so I made her a watercolor portrait, together with her living environment. Normally I prefer to work with acrylic or oil pastels because I love vibrant and thick colors.
But during a trip it’s just so convenient and cozy to work with watercolor to revive the highlight of the day on a small pad.”
Marina Marinopoulos
Octopus
watercolor and ink
9” x 12”
Greece & France
@athensletters
“In this particular instance I had just watched a fascinating documentary called ‘The Octopus in my House,’ so when I saw the Art Dare was about cephalopods, I was instantly inspired! Sadly, I didn’t have much time, so I just did a quick ink and watercolor sketch.”
Leah Gharbaharan
The Deep
11″ x 8″
brush pen & pen on paper
South Africa
@schism.art
“I have an enduring fascination with both the depth and the lack of our knowledge of the sea and its inhabitants. This fascination coupled with being a long-time horror fan meant that the Art Dare ‘Cephalopods’ was the perfect way to draw on both of these themes.
I aimed to focus on form and flow in this piece, using a brush pen and fine liners to illustrate an imagined meeting between a nautilus and H.P. Lovecraft‘s Cthulhu. I’m fairly certain the nautilus survived to tell the story.”
Clarice Ward
All Legs
gouache & colored pencil
9″ x 12″
USA
“This piece ‘All Legs’ was created out of frustration – I was unable to find one reference photo that would guide me in portraying my impression of an octopus. I took a lot of creative license, which is how I innately create. I hope that others will feel drawn to this piece and appreciate the individuality it.”
Kristyn Bell
Within an Octopus’ Grasp
marker
9″ x 12″
“My motivation was the Art Prof Dare with the collaboration of trying to think out of the box. I’m also trying to use more color in my art, usually a black and white artist, and expand my usage of the media of markers.”
Nina Musiyenko
Behind the Kelp, Under the Waves
acrylic
9″ x 6″
USA
“As an artist my drive comes from recreating the world through my own eyes. For this particular piece I used the flow of my brush to compose a rendering of the octopus.
It began simply as a doodle but as I combined colors I began to feel the atmosphere. From there a picture was formed.”
EXAMPLES
Alphonse Marie Adolphe de Neuville‘s Squid Holding Sailor, Roman Mosaic in The House of the Dancing Faun, from Pompeii, Italy, Minoan Octopus vase from Palaikastro, Utagawa Kuniyoshi‘s Retrieving Treasure Ball from the Dragon Palace, Carl Chun‘s Die Cephalopod.
PRIZE GUIDELINES
We award prizes and honorable mentions.
To be eligible for a prize, your artwork must be created specifically for this Art Dare, and follow all guidelines.
PRIZES
1 prize winner will receive a pack of art supplies that includes: 3 pads of 7″ x 5″ Yupo paper from Legion Paper, 1 lb. box of Super Sculpey, a premo Sculpey® Accents Multipack, 12 pc, Mixed Effects, a Strathmore 400 Series Watercolor Hardbound Art Journal, Liquid Sculpey® Liquid Polymer Clay Basics, a set of Faber-Castell 8 black Pitt Artist pens, a set of Faber-Castell 4 sepia Pitt Artist Pens, a Faber-Castell Water brush, a Faber-Castell 8 India ink Pitt Artist Pens, a Faber-Castell Pitt Graphite set.
1 Honorable mention will win 3 pads of 7″ x 5″ Yupo paper from Legion Paper.
ART TEACHER / ART CLUB PRIZE
Art teachers & Art Clubs, assign this month’s Art Dare!
One class or club will win a class pack of art supplies from Faber-Castell.
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