The dolphin one..

Describe your most memorable vacation.

We were holidaying on the Devon Coast in summer. We came back to the campsite and saw a crowd of people on the beach and others in wet suits in the sea. We went to find out what was happening and saw a pod of dolphins swimming back out to sea. But one had stayed behind.

I looked at my friend’s and told them I was getting in! I took off my glasses and shoes and got in the sea fully clothed! I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity of swimming with a dolphin. I swam half way to the people in wetsuits so I was not much out of my depth. I was a reasonable swimmer and it was a calm and walm evening.

The dolphin was very inquisitive and kept swimming backwards and forwards between the people on the beach and out to sea. Of course that meant it had to come past me. One thing I did notice was it had a lot of cuts along it’s sides. Apparently it was well known for getting near the propellers of boats. Sadly it had been hurt by this behaviour.

The other memory I have was of the caravan step collapsing on our last night. It had rusted through because of the salt air and broke as I stepped on it. We had to move caravans and got an extra nights stay as I had hurt my foot and couldn’t drive back home until the following day.

#motion

One of the art groups I’m part of put a prompt of #motion on their Facebook page today. I thought of this painting. Acrylic on canvas called Georges from a few years ago. A painting from memory of when I jumped in the sea fully clothed and swam out to a wild dolphin at Challaborough? In Devon. There were people on the beach and people in wetsuits further out. Georges kept swimming past me because I was somewhere in the middle. He’d got lots of scars along his body. I found out from a poster the next day telling people not to swim with him as he was too friendly and had been cut by boat propellers. You can also catch illnesses like pneumonia from breathing the air from their blowhole.

Georges remembered

I spoke about doing a painting of Georges the dolphin a few weeks ago and yesterday I got a chance to take a photo of the painting which is acrylic on canvas. I forgot how much I loved painting this. I think he was a bottle nosed dolphin. They have upturned mouths that make them look like they are permanently smiling.

I think I looked at a photo of a dolphin to know where the fins were but the rest is imagined and the landscape is based on the south Devon coastline.

Memory of devon

I once swam with a wild dolphin, we’d been driving round Devon and came back to the seaside to find a crowd of people on the beach and a group in wetsuits about fifty yards out. They were all excited and we saw a pod of dolphins swimming away. But one stayed in the bay. I decided I would swim out a bit and got in the sea fully clothed minus my shoes and glasses. My hubby stayed on the beach. The dolphin swam backwards and forwards between the two groups of people. Because I was in the middle he ket swimming close to me. It was fascinating. He kept coming past me and I noticed large wounds on his sides. It was after half an hour of being near him that I saw he was male! I can only say that it was quite alarming and not at all spiritual!. The next day there was a sign up about him at the camp site. He was called Georges and he was an adolescent male. His scars were because he would get too close to boat propelers. It also said not to breathe near them as they can transmit airborne diseases from their blowholes.

When I got home I did an imagined portrait of him but unfortunately the painting is at my sisters otherwise I would share a photo of him leaping through the waves. X

Dolphin boats

Reflected in the canal, the water is a gorgeous blue. Dolphin boats with its little dolphin symbol on it has been there for years. Its looking a bit tired now. Life is not being kind to it, and with lockdown I don’t even know if it’s open. As well as boat hire they have an air gun shooting range and archery, but we’ve never been in there, just walked past on the other side of the canal….

The tail of the dolphin

We’d been out all day on holiday one summer in Devon, we came back to the caravan we were staying in. A crowd of people were on the beach and some people were in wetsuits about thirty yards out in the sea. I saw a dolphin so decided to swim. Didn’t know how long it would be around so I just took my glasses and shoes off and got in fully clothed! I swam between the crowd at the shore and the ones further out. He, the dolphin (oh dear clearly male) kept swimming backwards and forwards and as I was in the middle he kept swimming next to me! After an hour I swam back in shore. Why do I know it was a male? Er, a long appendage! There was a notice on the campsite the next day. You can catch illnesses from dolphin breath out of their blowhole. They say swimming with dolphins is relaxing, but I didn’t expect that! The dolphin it turned out was an adolescent male called Georges x

🐬 Dolphin doodle

I was looking at Maori designs for whales and Orcas and saw one for a dolphin. I haven’t copied it but this is similar, with my own spin. I was still thinking of Auntysocials challenge to do something with her black and white piano keys. It won’t be possible to do womething like this without cutting and shaping piano keys. But it’s just an idea. I’m not quite sure why I added the waves. I can imagine the dolphin jumping.

Shouldn’t have added the curly lines to the title. It seems to read dolphik! Or dolphink, oh dear!

Remembering Georges

sketch-1579650911771

I met a wild dolphin when I was on holiday in Devon once. It swam into the bay and lots of people were watching it in the shallows and about fifty yards out ( they were wearing wetsuits) I got in fully clothed except for my shoes and glasses and swam about midway between the two groups. I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. Soon the dolphin was swimming around me. I noticed he was male (later found out he was called Georges, an adolescent male). Goodness knows what he thought I was! The next day there was a notice put up saying not to swim near him as you can catch diseases when they breathe out droplets of water, luckily I was fine. I remember he was badly scored along his sides. Apparently he was too interested in motor boats. I still think of him and hope he was OK. I did a painting of him but can’t find it.