#moby dick art

[mossy-rainfrog]

[ID in Alt Text]

strolling in fashionably late to the two year anniversary of the greatest musical adaptation of Moby Dick of all time, Caleb Hayashida's 'Moby Dick or the Whale'. I've been thoroughly enamored with this album for over a year now and it only felt right to do a tribute for its birthday :)

now, go do yourself a favor and listen to Sea Fever 💙💙

some notes about the details I added under the cut!

Some notes on this as a tribute!

Firstly, as always, my Ishmael design is stolen from the beloved @pocketsizedquasar :3

Secondly, the primary songs captured by this piece are meant to be 'Interpretation', 'Whiteness of the Whale', and 'Whaleman's Hymn'. Interpretation is primary, since that song refers directly to the painting at Spouter Inn, and Ishmael's attempts to interpret it. (Aside: it's a brilliant song that foreshadows chords repeated during the chase, it confuses and delights the listener much like book Ishmael's ramblings do, and it odes to the album itself being an interpretation of a novel. also it's a bop. I fucking love it.) The whale in the picture is, you guessed it, the whale song. That one I felt was important to center as Hayashida himself intentionally put that song at the center of the album as a focal point for the rest to follow around (and for the narrative to break inside - give it a listen, the end is incredible). It's literally the centerpiece. And finally, the lyrics are from Whaleman's Hymn, the gorgeous ode at the end of the album.

Ishmael is also posed as both moving and stagnant in the center as a reference to the cyclical nature of Hayashida's album. It ends with the same lyrics it begins with ("I must be out to sea"), and so here, Ishmael meant to be caught in the space between both of those songs. Moving and yet unable to move from where he is.

The watery effect was particularly inspired by Drifting, as that song fills me with an immense sense of peace and gives me the feeling of laying down at an aquarium watching the light of the water dance around. It also helps make the mood of the piece a bit more dynamic, as the looming painting, dissonant colors, and heavy shading all feel a bit foreboding, and the water effect both enhances that by giving an unnatural feel, and subdues that by communicating a semblance of peace and muting the colors.

The oil effect and jagged colors of the piece itself are references to the official album cover art! The flaming harpoon's colors are mimicked in the red light at the top of the painting, and the bright teal/white is mimicked in the whale at the bottom. They're also positioned over each other, just like on the album cover.

The painting itself is also supposed to be reminiscent of The Chase, in all its chaotic glory. Hayashida has an INSANE stroke of genius with that song where, at a certain point, two different time signatures overlap to show the whale opposing the crew/Ahab. The blend is so smooth that it's easy to miss if you aren't looking for it, and yet so brilliant that it makes you anxious for the buildup and final clash. The saturated opposing colors are supposed to be something of a nod to that, as well as the nature of the painting being a sinking ship and a white whale lol

So, yeah those are my notes! :D thank you for reading and definitely give this masterpiece a listen!! 💙💙

[saranilssonbooks]

Shipmate @hypothermic-dream induced enough bravery in me to finally share something from my actual artist's portfolio. I'm literally cold sweating.

Canson 160g. A4 Mixed Media

Mitsubishi Uni Pin (my great pen love) 0.03-04

Mitsubishi Uni Ball white gel

Ca. 5 hours.

[noughticalcrossings]

From Hell’s Heart

Inktober day 29. Massive

Do you defy your God, Ahab?

[karhunkalloot]

havent posted in a while so i thought i might as well post this wip of a storyboard/animatic, as well as some ishmael design explorations.

i’ve been reading moby dick recently and i fell in love with the overall story, with all its flaws. it can be beautiful at some points but also pretty outright offensive (i guess this is expected from a story published in the 1800s)

anyway. the animatic will go along to the song “loomings” from an audio bootleg of moby dick: a musical reckoning back in 2019. (the sound quality is barebale, i can promise you that.) the song is based on first chapter of the book and the climax of the song is so fucking beautiful!!! hopefully i finish this soon so i can share the song and my love for this story.

[malloymusicalmemes]

why don't you listen to etymology from the ART moby dick musical and calm down

[karhun-kallo]

niche and self indulgent valentines that cater to me specifically (if they cater to you as well, i will be so happy)

[oldshrewsburyian]

This is (I think) a beautiful read about the experience of reading great literature -- specifically Moby Dick, and that specificity does matter -- in community.

To recite the whole novel in one unbroken sequence only intensifies Moby-Dick’s legendary obstinance. We are all trapped here, in the belly of the beast, one page at a time.

[fulsvamp]

The White Whale, 2021

[rereredoubt]

my new friend ishmael, explaining the universal human attraction towards water

[sailundertheblack]

"Moby Dick" Book cover

Artwork by Sergey Shikin

[isbergillustration]

Saw a performance of Moby Dick yesterday. There were no whales. Felt like painting one in protest of this scenographic choice.

[mossy-rainfrog]

[ID: A digital painting of Captain Ahab from Moby Dick standing in a storm and wielding a burning harpoon. He stands near the railing of the ship as a wave breaks over the bulwarks, and scowls fiercely towards the viewer, mouth open as if in mid-speech, akin to a snarl. He holds the harpoon in both hands, and waves the burning barb of it in front of him. The light reflects off of his eyes, his face, and the droplets of water on his skin. Behind him, huge waves surround the ship. The next three images are closeups of the drawing: on his hands, his face, and the harpoon itself.

Character design: Ahab is an older chubby and muscular Persian man with short curly greying dark hair, a pointed beard, a lightning scar across his face, and a scar across his nose and lip. He wears a high-collared red coat over a light colored undershirt. End ID.]

"All your oaths to hunt the White Whale are as binding as mine; and heart, soul, and body, lungs and life, old Ahab is bound. And that ye may know to what tune this heart beats; look ye here; thus I blow out the last fear!" - Moby Dick: Chapter 119 ,The Candles

FINALLY finished this tribute to my favorite Ahab moment in the whole entire book. HOT MEN PUT DOWN A MUTINY SINGLEHANDEDLY WITH A BURNING HARPOON!!!! GAH!!!!!!!! special thanks to unsplash for all my color references, to my computer for putting up with this file, and @pocketsizedquasar for the most gorgeous and grand Ahab design of all time. Go read their webcomic.

[saranilssonbooks]

After two weeks of having tried to learn watercolor techniques by the book, I screamed a little, beat up a piece of furniture then went rogue. At last, I am having fun. Sorry, art teachers out there.

[greypetrel]

Some illustrations I made last year, following Herman Melville's 100% true, so accurate descriptions of whales he shared in Moby Dick.

And by the way on this matter I also wrote a little thing to be continued...

Tagging @shivunin because she gave me the idea, @salsedinepicta because she actually was the one that convinced me to read Moby Dick and I can't thank you enough 💜🐳, and @melisusthewee because hi Mel there's a right whale!

[pocketsizedquasar]

what you fear you have become

[ID: An ink drawing of Ahab and Moby Dick. Ahab stands at the bows of his whaleboat with his back to the viewer, holding his harpoon. Behind him, the white whale breaches out of the water. Ahab’s head is replaced by where the whale’s eye is.

the second image is a photo of the drawing including the ink & pens used to make it. the last image is a closeup shot of the drawing.]

[monstercollection]

This is the reason Ishmael saw so many depictions of dolphins with scales and a helmet-heads: mahi-mahi, aka the dolphinfish.

Mahi-mahi are in fact fish but were considered members of the dolphin family at various times in history.

They were often used as an art motif and in decorative sculptures and crafted items.

This soup tureen from the Clark Museum— my all time favorite museum piece— belonged to Marie Antoinette’s sister. It always baffled me that the feet (which it’s plaque identified as dolphins) looked like that.

Then a few months ago, while I was prepping for a fishing trip in the bahamas, my dad mentioned that mahi-mahi are sometimes called dolphinfish.

I looked up a picture and my mind was blown.

That was it. That was the stupid fish on the soup tureen (or at least closer to it than an actual dolphin). Mystery solved and mind blown.