Animals that swim
•Animals that swim can range from the smallest fish to the biggest whale, from pelicans with funny shaped beaks to sea anemones that look more life flowers. Find a picture of the Colonial zebra anemone from East Timor. Also look at the 49th plate from Ernst Haeckel’s Kunstformen der Natur, 1904, showing various sea anemones.
•Can you think of the name of a type of animal that people often ride that is the same name of a type of animal that lives in the ocean?
•The first fish appeared some 500 million years ago. Today more than 24,000 species populate the waters of the world. Look at the colours, patterns and shapes of tropical fish to see why artists wanted to paint them.
•Animals are an important part of nature and since earlier times artists have endeavoured to paint them but how do you think artists sculpt, paint or draw animals who don’t stay still? Imagine how much harder it is to paint animals that mostly live in water!
•Look at the following artists work; •Henri Matisse, Still Life with Goldfish, 1911 and Brett Whiteley, Pelican 1
•If you wanted to paint a picture of a whale how big would your canvas have to be? What about a life size sculpture of a whale, how would you go about making something so big? Have a look at the Blue whale sculpture outside the National Science Museum, Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan.
•Next time you go the Aquarium have a look at the Jellyfish, how would you go about painting them? How would you paint the water around them?
Can you recognise any of these amazing animals that swim? CLICK on the images below to find out more!
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