Sea Turtle Artwork / Slow and Steady

Swimming Along

A sea turtle swims along in stylized water in this latest art piece.

Sea turtles interest me, and they have shown up in previous art here at Burnsland, too. However, this turtle is completely different from the previous one. The last one was much more cartoonish, while this one is more stylized.

This turtle does not look as happy as that last turtle looks. But then if you look at a real sea turtle, he does not look all that happy, either. Not angry, necessarily. Just serious. As if he is on a turtle mission of some sort, hoping to accomplish his turtle goals, whatever they might be.

So maybe this turtle is more accurate, while the cartoon turtle looks more fun. I guess it just depends on what kind of mood you are in at the time.

Like a Turtle

Perhaps the reason that I like turtles is that I can identify with them. They are not the fastest animals. But they keep on going along. And they get there, eventually.

I am not usually the fastest, best, or whatever else. I might not be the last, but I most likely will not be the first. But I try to keep on going. And I usually get to where I need to be, metaphorically speaking.

Life is not a race, after all. We are all on our own paths on our own schedules. What works for you does not have to work for me in many circumstances. And that is okay.

They say slow and steady wins the race. But since this is not a race, snow and steady gets you through life, too. Go at your own pace.

For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Let each one examine his own work. Then he can take pride in himself and not compare himself with someone else. - Galatians 6:3-4

About the Artwork

As with the recent Hawaiian shore painting, I have apparently been in a Hawaiian mood recently. To me, this turtle has a Hawaiian look about him in the style of the artwork.

If you are curious about how he was created, here is a breakdown of the steps I took:

I started with a photo of a random sea turtle that I found online as a reference for the pose. Based on that pose, I drew a rough sketch, followed by a more final line sketch. I then created the two solid color forms, and then “erased” the patterns from the forms to give the turtle his “tribal” look. I drew the water levels for the background, and then drew in some lines to add texture that also somewhat matched the texture of the turtle. And I did not mind that the different water level colors are visible through the lines in the turtle. Hopefully, that background is not too busy.

If you have not guessed by now, this artwork is all digital, created on my iPad using the Procreate app and an Apple Pencil.