02:00, Penmon Point.
Waiting by the shoreline my patience was rewarded, when I saw it!
BIOLUMINESCENT ALGAE!!
New Art Collection.
Mixed Media on Canvas
It's 02:00 on the Welsh coastline, UK. Looking out at the crashing waves, I can feel it coming...something exciting and magical and rare. Worth the wait, for there, as the wave breaks the dance of the glowing algae begins and the sea begins to glow!
The chemical reaction that results in bioluminescence requires two unique chemicals: luciferin and either luciferaseor photoprotein. Luciferin is the compound that actually produces light. In a chemical reaction, luciferin is called the substrate. The bioluminescent color (yellow in fireflies, greenish in lanternfish) is a result of the arrangement of luciferin molecules.
Some bioluminescent organisms produce (synthesize) luciferin on their own. Dinoflagellates, for instance, bioluminesce in a bluish-green colour. Bioluminescent dinoflagellates are a type of plankton—tiny marine organisms that can sometimes cause the surface of the ocean to sparkle at night.
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Luciferase is an enzyme. An enzyme is a chemical (called a catalyst) that interacts with a substrate to affect the rate of a chemical reaction. The interaction of the luciferase with oxidized (oxygen-added) luciferin creates a byproduct, called oxyluciferin. More importantly, the chemical reaction creates light. Bioluminescent dinoflagellates produce light using a luciferin-luciferase reaction.
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Most marine bioluminescence, for instance, is expressed in the blue-green part of the visible light spectrum. These colours are more easily visible in the deep ocean. Also, most marine organisms are sensitive only to blue-green colours. They are physically unable to process yellow, red, or violet colours.
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Organisms can luminesce when they are disturbed. Changes in the environment, such as a drop in salinity, can force bioluminescent algae to glow, for instance.
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I have captured this in my three new pieces of art that are now in my store. They are mixed media pieces.
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“The waves lap over the soft sand and gently ripple. The soothing noise makes you feel sleepy and calm and the soft sand between your toes takes you back to your childhood, when the whole world was full of magic.”
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This is a mixed media piece that has sand texture and glossy water textures that intermingle with the amazing effect of a glow when the lights go out...a unique and fantastically magical piece of art to transform any space from mundane, to MAGIC!
10 x 10" Sold unframed.
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