THE CHALLANGES OF UNDERWATER PAINTING

I made my first dive with sub-aqua equipment in 1963 and since that time I have never tired of the experience of exploring the seas around the coasts of Europe and in more recent years the tropical seas of the world.

The thing that has sustained my interest in diving has been studying and filming marine life. From early beginnings with homemade Perspex camera housings for silent Super 8 movie cameras to my present day DVD video cameras and lighting, I have amassed a wealth of film that provides me with the subject matter for my underwater paintings.

I have always had a love of painting landscapes as can be seen on my other web-site www.devonpaint.nl. From landscape painting I have developed a sense of colour harmony and a grasp of aerial perspective to create mood and atmosphere in my art. The development of painting techniques for these landscape subjects has put me in good stead for the development of my underwater paintings. Red is quickly filtered out of the colour spectrum as you descend into fresh water or seawater leaving a green/grey or blue/grey image. Even in the clearest shallow tropical waters, colour, tone and contrast diminish rapidly as you descend. My personal challenge is to capture in my underwater paintings the exhilarating sensation of diving and to create a vibrancy that is anything but grey and sombre.

In my paintings I try to convey something of the fascination I have long held for this intriguing world under the waves.

Gerry Miles