The Art of David (Of-the-Sea) Delamare

I really would love to work out an Aquaticat workshop tour. That would be great... lots of pools in the U.S. and abroad that could use some "retrotainment"!

What's on the horizon for your pod of aquaticats?

More training, and expansion, of course — to other attractions, aquariums, pools, other states, countries... to have MeduSirena chapters all about the world would be wonderful!

Gotta think of a secret handshake...

At this point in your career, if you could do anything what would it be?

Join MeduSirena at her home pool, the Wreck Bar

in the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach

Return to the days of porthole pools where you can enjoy your Mai Tai in the comfort of the bar while reliving the sub-aquatic shows of tourism's Golden Age.

I'd like to continue to help increase interest in Aquatic performances and spectacles, to work and meet with more underwater performers, and help to train others in this almost extinct art. To help to preserve those few porthole establishments remaining in the U.S. and abroad, and perhaps add new ones. I have several more ambitious film and visual projects ahead, and would love to work on those as long as the body holds up!

As you can tell by her photos, the body is holding up just fine. Which means we can look forward to many more years of aquatic 'retrotainment' magic, as only MeduSirena can conjure.

DAVID DELAMARE, ARTIST OF THE SEA

by Joy de Vivre with help from Eleina Fae

The eternal question, "What's in a name?" has been quintessentially answered by our contributing urban fairy, Eleina Fae. When I mentioned to her my unbridled glee concerning the prospects of interviewing artist David Delamare and his partner for the magazine's mermaid issue, she smugly replied, "Well I should hope so. You know what his name means, don't you?" "Of course," I returned, Googling 'de la mare' at the speed of light.

With not a little bit of smugness on my own part, I rejoined,"His name is Catalan for 'of the mother,' as in the mother Mary." A snort later, Eleina put the issue to rest, "Oh silly, it means 'of the sea.' Every grade school mermaid knows that." After another internet search, I learned she was correct. The surname, going back to that Norman business of 1066, has roots in Gloucestershire and refers to the family's former place of residence, de la mare, i.e. of or from the sea. Suddenly I felt very wise and in tune with his art in deep and secret ways.

His partner, Wendy Ice, on the other hand, defies her monicker, being as warm and inviting as the waters of the Seychelles. Both of them have been gracious and patient in answering the unorthodox questions I sent them, at Eleina's bidding. Most of our readers will count David among their favorite artists, but for those who have been living under a coral reef and are unfamiliar with him by 'name,' here are a few samples of his artwork to bring you into his world of the sea. I'm betting you'll recognize them immediately.

Never having driven a car, you've seen life from a different perspective than many Americans. How does that spectator's view inform and influence your art?

David: Neither one of us has ever had a driver's license. This is the anthropological version of going through a day using the less dominant hand. It separates you from the wash of rote information and response. We're always drawn to things that deviate a bit from the expected. Even when moving in the same general direction, it can be helpful to have things just slightly skewed. For instance, some people have babies and that becomes a primary topic and focus. We just happen to have rabbits and it's their snapshots that I carry in my wallet.

Wendy: Also, with driving, we tend to focus on large landmarks. When walking our attention is free to notice details that are subtle or seemingly insignificant, but in fact are more meaningful because they are tied to ones own distinct personality and perspective. There's definitely an analogy here for how an artist gathers the best material for creative work.

Mermaids.... why?

David: Oddly enough, the answer relates back to your first question. Setting aside the rich narrative landscape and endless metaphors, painting a nude with a tail allows me to reinvent my relationship to the figure. I see the form afresh, while the poses and compositions become a condition of the fantastic appendage.

I note that you personally enjoy the unparalleled pleasure of having a siren for a partner. How does she inspire you and keep you from wrecking on the shoals?

David: Wendy and I met about 18 years ago when I asked her to model. She appears in many of my mermaid paintings and in about half of the paintings in the book "Animerotics" which she co-wrote. As the practical and analytical member of our relationship, she manages all the business matters that would distract from my work and dampen my creativity. (These would definitely constitute the "shoals.") The tradeoff is that her own creative work has often been wrecked in the process.

Wendy: There's a lesson here for artists: it's not always beneficial to develop business skills. You may end up being a full-time businessperson and a very occasional artist (I know this danger first-hand). As an agent and publisher, when asked, I invariably advise artists to get a day job before getting involved in the art business. David can't type, can't use the computer, and has zero interest in business. In fact, he has almost no practical skills that don't relate to art. I don't think that's an accident so much as an unconscious strategy. It's hard enough to stay true to an artistic vision without getting things muddled with business concerns. The minute you start thinking about pleasing a market, you compromise the art.

Your interest in Shakespeare (my favorite playwrite) and Dickens (my favorite novelist) hint at your impeccable taste and lead me to ask you the cheesy question posed me once during an interview. If you could meet any 3 people, living or otherwise, whom would you choose... and why?

What is the most monumental project you ever tackled and what can you tell us about it?

David: Ultimately, for me, the question boils down to who I'd like to sit next to on a transatlantic flight. I would love to bathe in the glow of Orson Welles' charm and would delight in being lied to by him. As for a living personality, in my mind Dr. Jonathan Miller (who directed my favorite film version of "Alice in Wonderland") is hands down the most interesting conversationalist going. His incredible well of cultural knowledge is tempered by a remarkable wit (as demonstrated by his work in the comedy group "Beyond the Fringe.")

Wendy: That's a tough choice. The one thing we're sure of is that we wouldn't be interested in something akin to an informational interview. We almost always find personality more interesting than hard content. So while, for instance, we wouldn't mind asking Shakespeare which plays involved collaboration and with whom, we'd much rather hear him gripe about his wife or gossip about the queen.

David: This would definitely be a toss up between my new "Alice in Wonderland" book (with at least 34 drawings and 25 paintings) and a future mermaid book for which I've already created over 100 images. The mermaid book has been on and off the table for probably thirty years. In the most recent incarnation, the text consists of an elaborate mermaid field guide of Wendy's invention. Our planned publisher is no longer in business and we're now deciding whether to work with another or publish the book ourselves.

With all on your artistic plate, do you ever get time to indulge in your music and writing?

David: Never enough. But I fit it in where I can and enjoy moving among different media which, again, keeps things from becoming rote.. These days my writing resembles a Dada poem—scraps of phrases, names, and situations scattered around the studio in cups and boxes. My music is much more constituted. I have about six instrumental pieces with which I'm quite happy, some of which I hope to release before the end of the year. The music is a wonderful antidote for too many hours of painting.