Season's of Self Reflection ~ A Time for Rebirth (Spring)
A Self-Portrait Series
Each of these illustrations is reflective of my personality. I am a Pisces but I am also a Tiger, according to the Chinese zodiac calendar.
As self portraits, the symbolism within these illustrations represent memories from my childhood and through my adult years. They portray my love of fantasy, of art and literature, animals and nature. They depicts my adoration of the aquatic realm and the wonders and beauty of the deep cold snow, which blanketed the land throughout the heart of Quebec winters.
Spring Illustration
As a child, I often imagined what it would be like if our river teemed with exotic marine life.
I learned to swim at a very young age in the river that flowed through our hundred acre property.
Young memories . . .
Some of the detail in this section includes a photo of me as a two week old baby and at five years of age, which was when I learned to swim.
Later in my adult years I traveled to Australia to get my scuba diving license.
My Chinese sign . . .
A closeup of me and my Chinese tiger sign. In this case it is a symbol of protection from the snapping turtles of my youth to the great unknown dangers beneath the Barrier Reef waves.
Water memories . . .
This detail showing the octopus and seahorses are a couple of sea creatures I always wished would magically appear while I swam in the river.
Another aspect of this image shows large dense schools of fish.
The fear of the Snapping Turtle . . .
This shows a closeup detail of the great white shark.
The first representation depicts my fear of the very large snapping turtles that lived under our bridge.
Preliminary Spring Self Portrait
This was the first Spring experiment, using clam shells and my portrait. I used a portion of this image for the final illustration.
Spring Waters Concept
Before I added my portrait photo, the idea for the overall design began with this water and clam shell mock up.