Monday, February 20, 2012

Tea for Two and the Rejects





Or should I say "The Rejects and Tea for Two"? 

As I said before, the final "Tea for Two" painting almost didn't happen.  Originally it was going to be entitled "Tea Time on the Titanic" and the Gentleman Octopus and Lady Squid were going to be in a recognizable portion of the sunken Titanic wreck taking their tea with old first class Red Star Line china.  As I was doing my research and watching a bunch of documentaries I stumbled upon a really good one that interviewed the original ex-navy commander who discovered the wreckage back in the 80's.  And for the first time I saw the Titanic for the tragedy that it truly was and not just a fascinating ship rusting away on the bottom of the ocean.

I love Gothic things, and I have the utmost respect for the dead, and when I realized that the Titanic is essentially a cemetery, I couldn't bring myself to desecrate and dishonor the memories of the people who died there.  The only "tombstones" those people have are the remnants of their leather shoes that will be sitting on the bottom of the ocean for who knows how long.

Anyway, I couldn't do the original painting. . . so what you see above is what I almost turned into the "Tentacle Love Show".  After doing one or two of the color blocks, I lost inspiration (I think mostly because the piece wasn't telling a "story"). . . so I went back to the "Tea Time" idea and just made it a generic stretch of ocean floor and with an average china tea service. . .   The final results of which you can see below.

So yeah. . . a butt load of cephlopods for your viewing pleasure.

1 comment:

Natasha Kline said...

I love the final so much, Mary!!! I may have to purchase this in your shop if you put up a print for sale...

Funny, I was going to ask you about why you decided to do an ocean-view instead of a Titanic-view, but I forgot. I never would have guessed that that's why you didn't go with the Titanic theme! Anyway, I'm kinda glad you decided to just do seaweed and rocks- it turned out great! Methinks you should do more underwater-themed stuff. You're clearly a gifted seaweed arteest ;)

I'm so bummed I didn't get to go to the opening... but I can't wait for your dessert themed show!!! YAY! If you need any help getting things together, let me know!