Dolphins with Bioluminescence and Anthropogenic Starlight

My latest mixed media painting is the third I’ve made in response to San Diego’s 2020 red tide event that lit up our beaches. There were a few moments enjoyed during multiple visits to appreciate this phenomenon late at night when few others were around when I thought, yeah, I have to make a painting inspired by that. Dolphins, sea birds and California sea lions making big splashes in the water resulted in the bioluminescent glow emitted by Lingulodinium polyedra, a dinoflagellate species. In this dreamscape rooted in reality, I’ve shown the light pollution trapped by the marine layer in contrast to the subdued glow of nature. It’s dark over Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve to the right of the composition and the open ocean to the far left due to humanity’s more limited physical presence in these places.

Dolphins with Bioluminescence and Anthropogenic Starlight. 2020. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

New works, the 2018 Comic-Con Art Show and a published piece.

Having lived most of my life so far in the Midwest before moving to San Diego, fireflies are something I look forward to seeing every summer on my visits back.  I still typically make at least one firefly-inspired piece each year.  Hotaru-gari VII is my most recent in this series.  I framed it and a handful of other pieces for inclusion in the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con Art Show at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel.  This sale and auction will run July 18th through the close of the convention that Sunday the 22nd.  You don't need to have a badge to stop in to enjoy the art show and bid on a piece if you're taken with it.  

Robin Street-Morris.  Hotaru-gari VII. 2018.  Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 140lb hot press paper. 9" x 16" (23 x 41cm).

What San Diego lacks in the way of fireflies it makes up for in another form of bioluminescence.  Our periodic algal blooms, known as red tides, can make the waves glow blue.   I got to see this spectacular natural phenomenon for the first time this year and made two mixed media paintings inspired by it.     

Robin Street-Morris.  Luminescence at Torrey Pines. 2018. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

Robin Street-Morris. Luminescence at Torrey Pines II. 2018. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

Finally, it's an honor to have Coastal Walk VII, a piece inspired by my beloved Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, included in Reed Magazine's California Edition. Issue 151 is dedicated to fine art and literature inspired by the Golden State and may be purchased directly through their website.    

--Robin Street-Morris