Luminaries

Luminaries is an underwater world of soft blue light and glowing forms, inspired by the suspended, almost otherworldly feeling of watching fish move through an aquarium.

The painting began as the third work I created alongside a commissioned series of awards for The International SeaKeepers Society, but this piece was designed to stand on its own. Against layers of blue water, fluorescent orange, yellow, green and purple forms hover at different depths, some vivid and close, others softened almost to the point of disappearing.

The fluorescence makes the painting unusually responsive to its surroundings. In bright daylight, the entire underwater field is visible. As the room grows dimmer, the blues and more distant forms gradually recede, while the brightest fish seems to hold onto the light. The painting quietly changes throughout the day.

Up close, another layer emerges. The surface is assembled from 21 invasive lionfish skins hand-cut into pieces, with their seams, scales, and natural textures becoming part of the water, the light, and the glowing forms themselves.