Illuminating Nature

At the base level of creative practice, artists often reap inspiration from their surroundings. Writers might eavesdrop on a conversation in a coffee shop and then use it in a novel, and a composer might transform sounds from his urban environment into an orchestral work. In Kelly Lanphier’s case, working at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, early on created a substantial interest in sea life that has focused and shaped her artwork. During high school, Lanphier took art classes while volunteering at the aquarium, where she absorbed all she could about marine biology. Her role at the aquarium involved educating the public about the basics of oceanic environments. She took joy in disseminating marine knowledge to the masses. In particular, she became fascinated by bioluminescent phytoplankton and comb jellies. The subjects and subject matter still captivate her. During that time, Lanphier continued to paint, so much so that her artwork began to dominate her life. She eventually left the aquarium to pursue painting full time, channeling her experiences into a creative passion. All those shifts teaching visitors about marine biology and oceanic organisms left a lasting impression. Throw in a simultaneous interest in space, and Lanphier’s company GalaxSea Artworks (www.galaxseaartworks.org) was born. More specifically, the concepts of bioluminescence and biofluorescence became fuel that drove her to create ultraviolet (UV) reactive imagery and glow-in-the-dark paintings. In the same way that various species are biofluorescent—absorbing light, transforming it, and then redisplaying it—under UV light Lanphier’s artwork glows and morphs into different colors. After much experimentation with the interactive visuals created by UV light, Lanphier felt a natural next step would be to produce art pieces that viewers can experience using glasses with Chromadepth diffraction lenses. By adding the 3D element, Lanphier allows viewers to immerse themselves in the various emerging layers of color in her work. As her creative process has evolved and expanded, Lanphier never lost the aquarium’s influence. In addition to vampire squid, she draws inspiration from swimming bristle worms, comb jellies, and Mycena chlorophos—a species of agaric fungus. Her mixed-media approach incorporates everything she learned taking college-level classes at the aquarium. “I like to think that I have downloaded bits and pieces of the ocean into my consciousness that I now express through my work,” Lanphier says. “By the time I graduated, I was working on new custom paintings every week.”