Swimming Joy

Shark skin is currently under research, as it’s made up of very small interlocking serrations called denticles.

These denticles help the shark swim faster through water, through lower drag. They also help protect the shark against barnacles and bacteria.

Shark skin is hoped to provide breakthroughs for wetsuits and for hospital hygiene.

Idea flow - swimming jor

For my first painting in the biomimicry series I decided to focus on sharks. Specifically, the hammerhead shark. This animal is relatively well-known for its unusual head and so quite recognisable. I sketched a few sharks out to get a feel for its anatomy and then moved on to thumbnails, testing different layout ideas for the small canvas.

finishing up

I was quite interesting in the challenge of painting a swirling sea, so the top-down view of the shark was chosen. Using a mixture of yellow, green and blue for the sea and blue and red for the shark makes the two forms more distinguishable rather than shades of the same colour.

For more about my process and inspiration for this painting, please head over to my blog.

I also produced two charcoal A2 drawings, to try and capture the dynamic movements of the sketches.