Intriguing???? and....What About Those Bubbles?

So, there is nothing particularly endearing about a seahorse.  You can't really have one as a pet, they are not cute and cuddly, and you cannot take one with you on a road trip or to the park.  Their intriguing feature, that keeps us interested, seems to rest in fact that the males incubate the young and give birth.  That holds such fascination that it keeps us coming back to check them out.

What if, instead of being shaped like a horse on the top, they were shaped like a pig, or an anteater and launched forth little piggies or mini-anteater-like swimmers?  Would they be as intriguing?  Good question!  They even have a great brow ridge to give their face a discerning look.  Are they deep thinkers????  What if we discover another aesthetically appealing critter in the wild that passes traditionally maternal responsibilities to the males of the species;  will we be equally as intrigued?  So, is it about the aesthetics of cutness first, THEN biology, or....the other way around?

Why are we so intrigued by seahorse?  A resident in the "maternity ward" tank.  Photograph.  Click on image to enlarge.  Sorry it is not very clear.

Adding details to "de tail' (OMG, sorry, I just had to do that,) is the key to the depth and contrast of this painting.

The highlights, shadows, segments, cilia and overlapping all work to make this seahorse more dimensional.  I think the bubbles give the entire painting more depth, as well.  Acrylic on canvas.  Click on image to enlarge.

I usually like to identify the location of the bubble-source if I am including bubbles in a drawing or painting.  In the first otter painting, for example, it was clear that the air was carried in the dense coat of the otter and small bubbles were released as the hairs of the coat separated as the otter was swimming through the water.  In fact, in the first otter painting (see earlier posts,) the bubbles also served to indicate the direction of travel and, to some extent, the depth of the water.

Because the resource for this painting is a picture from an aquarium, the bubbles are not really produced by the seahorses, plants, other fish, etc. or any other living things, but by the pumps and filters  attached for the purpose of cleaning the water.  With these somewhat barren-appearing tanks, the filtration systems are very visible and obvious; making an "artistic license" decision to omit that portion of the source images and just keep the bubbles was an early decision. 

A good question to ask might be:  "When you see bubbles included in a visual image, do you look for their source?"