Paul Fearn - Contemporary Marine Wildlife Artist

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever" - Jacques Cousteau

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Nothing can be as true as our love of water. We are made of it, we are born of it, we drink it to survive. Water imbues us with some of our most primal feelings - our fears of drowning, the need for survival, isolation and predation, yet also relief, hope, wonder and longing. What is over the horizon? What is under the surface? The oceans reduce us to tiny spectators in their vastness, and frighten us with their power.

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Yet they also invite us in to discover their treasures. Displays of colour matched not even by birds of paradise await. Inquisitive fish and sea mammals engage with us and challenging currents and poor visibility give way to moments of pure joy and acceptance. Mysteries abound as we enter this ethereal world of diffuse light where shadows give way to reflections that dance and glimmer over coral cities.

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I could write a book on the lure of the world beneath the waves, but they say a picture paints a thousand words and thankfully I am a lot better at art than writing. My paintings are an attempt to recreate the magic and the joy that I experience in the underwater world and share them with the viewer.

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I use copper sheets as my canvasses, as I find the patination process creates a natural effect much like water if applied correctly. I find I can recreate or describe a wealth of different water conditions with different chemicals and application methods. This gives me my backgrounds, and details such as fish and corals are then painted on top in acrylics. Engraving is the last stage, before the piece is sealed from further oxidisation with a lacquer.

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I hope to offer something for you to enjoy, a slice of life on our planet that we know scarily little about. Yet every day dramas are played out across the world's reefs and in the desert-like open oceans that we are blisfully unaware of. I now have hundreds of dives in many seas and oceans across the world and I have seen incredible sights - and I would like to share my interpretation of them with you. From coral metropolis and shipwrecks to miniscule seahorses, please come and have a peek into my favourite part of our world.

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Oh, and I'm also midly obsessed with koi carp...

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"Darling it's better, down where it's wetter, take it from me." - Sebastian (The Little Mermaid)

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Instagram: paulmfearn

Facebook: Search 'Paul Michael Fearn'

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