This video shows the results of the 2023 August Art Dare: Underwater Creatures. Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artist Jordan McCracken-Foster.
Prize Winner
“This piece is a continuation of a topic I’ve been exploring in my work recently — small moments and the environments that create them.
Using acrylic paint on canvas and focusing on color and lighting, I wanted to capture an intimate moment of a girl showing her cat a koi fish. I think of underwater creatures as so mysterious to us humans, and this piece plays with the idea that we are just as elusive to them.
This painting celebrates a moment where worlds collide in a dimly lit aquarium. The glowing koi fish bring an element of fantasy into the scene.”
Honorable Mention
“Underwater creature vs. creature under the water
I often feel overwhelmed due to the disease I have. It feels like emotional drowning, and I tried to capture the feeling in two of the artworks. There is a continuous desire to get out of the water.Maybe I should just undergo morphosis and become an underwater creature that is comfortable and happy under water. I have mixed myself with a lionfish in the one artwork. In the other artwork, I just created a fictional creature with many arms that can swim fast and do more than a standard fish.
With these fictional creatures, I want to give hope that one can adapt to difficult conditions and still find joy.”
