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"Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature."
Cicero, 106 BC - 43 BC
Carlos Serra-Marchal is a member of the OCEAN ARTIST SOCIETY
Artist's Statement:
Being art an expression of feelings poured over a media, a canvas in my case, I seek to combine two emotions into one; my love for the ocean and the intrinsic need to express myself through paint. But I also add into the equation a major concern; a visceral apprehension about our future based upon the harm we cause to the root and cradle of our life; the sea. Although I don't limit my creativity to just marine-related themes, the subjects I portray in the canvas are, to a great extent, related to the ocean but with the human element incorporated. The goal is to convey the need to preserve our oceans and its inhabitants by underlining our similarities with those marine creatures, humanizing them somehow.
In the end, slogans and mottos like "Save the Dolphins", "Save the Manatees", or "Save the Whales", belittled by the ignorance of some and ignored by the hazed mind of others, should be replaced by a single motto, "Save Ourselves". If we don't change our look-the-other-way attitude, and continue to be accomplices by silence in the destruction of the planet via annihilation of marine fauna, global warming, pollution and other man-made remarkably devastating deeds, we are doomed to perish right after our marine cousins.
Without water there is no life. We came from the ocean and left behind our distant cousins. So distant, indeed, that we forgot, through evolution, that the birth of humanity lies beneath the surface of the oceans. I'm a firm believer of God, and feel certain that He planted the seed of life in the water. If we don't change our attitude of negligence and destruction, we'll be destined to cause the biggest holocaust of all... our own. Eventually, everything that would be left to remember what once existed below the surface are pictures, videos and paintings, but no one will be around to see them!
Therefore, my paintings are my little contribution to the cause, the cause of preserving human life by preserving our oceans. My task is, along with many other prolific marine-life artists led by Wyland, Guy Harvey and Bob Talbot through the Ocean Artist Society, to express our intimate relationship with creatures most people only see through a TV documentary, or believe that every dolphin is named Flipper, or see the Discovery Channel's Shark Week as nature's counterpart of Hollywood's Horror movies. My intention is to expand the message of love and understanding for the sea-dwellers, as they are part of a perfectly created balance, and that they live in harmony with us, so we should with them. My goal is to show the beauty of the sea, realizing that the moment we disrupt the equilibrium, we push ourselves one step closer towards a dark future; a future that my kids, our kids, don't deserve.
Carlos Serra-Marchal