Sketching, Illustration, Design and Everyday Life.
Copyright by © Nina Khashchina except where noted.
I made a little video of the Bonaire part of the sketchbook - you will be able to see how all these sketches fit together and tell the whole story of the trip:
And here are some of the sketches from the article in the wonderful Sketcher Press publication "On the Spot": Underwater sketching in the balmy blue sea
All Posts re: Bonaire 2025:
In my previous post with underwater sketches, I shared results of my oil pastel experiments and mentioned that I enjoyed using a tip or sharp edge of the crayon to add details or even write in some instances, but I found a better way to do so. And what I share below is probably my favorite combination of materials so far: I used pastels to make larger shapes, add texture, and differentiate value, and then I added details with a much more precise and predictable tool - pencil!
All Posts re: Bonaire 2025:
Here is a thing about sunsets - there is one every day, people generally agree that they are gorgeous, and looking at them is a good way to spend your time. But we rarely see them. So during my trip to Bonaire, I wanted to make sure that I had a chance to see some sunsets - and it worked - but not 100% - and for a good reason! I missed a few sunsets because I did a few dusk-to-night dives. There is no good view of the setting sun underwater: everything gets darker and less colorful, and that's it! But that is the time when new animals emerge. After the sun is gone, you can see bioluminescence in the sea, and that is one of the most amazing things to look at, in my opinion. Bonaire has a prominent bioluminescence (when you see light by moving the water - clapping or swimming) but it is also famous for its predictable twice-a-month show of ostracods - tiny crustaceans that emit light to communicate with their potential partners (think underwater fireflies). I tried to take my sketching tools with me to these dives, but quickly discarded the idea of drawing. For one, we dove without lights, so it was really dark (don't worry - we had lights with us, but turned them off on purpose). And keeping track of your air supply, position, and buoyancy, where your diving buddy is - all that was a big enough load without light to keep me completely occupied. But also the view is incredibly unusual, and for me it was a much better experience to look at this fantastic show of light than think where my tools are and how to draw something... quite undrawable :) I found this video to show you something that might explain my thing about ostracods:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6R4lWIZSw4
All Posts re: Bonaire 2025:
I wrote about my experiment with bringing oil pastels of different brands with me to my underwater sketching adventures on Bonaire. And below are several sketches which will show you how I:
Bear in mind that all the colors look very different when you are looking at them under 60-70 feet of water, so most of my color choices had to be "blind". I tried to limit the number of colors that I took with me, and remember the overall shape of the crayon, and remember how the hue would shift (from the theory that red color disappears first and so on), and from previous experience.
All Posts re: Bonaire 2025:
The east side of the island of Bonaire has an amazing spot for diving. I accessed it via shore once before, but this year, a boat ride allowed a much more reasonable approach to a very cool underwater location where one can see multiple turtles at once. During an almost an hour-long trip underwater, I tried to capture both the turtles and the landscape.
All Posts re: Bonaire 2025:
All of the following sketches were done at a depth between 100 and 60 feet underwater in the Indian Ocean during my scuba diving trip to Maldives, in December 2024. After each dive, I would tear pages with sketches from my notebook, wash them in fresh water several times, let them dry, and then take these photos. A few scans below will give you a view with a little more details so that you can read my notes and see how I incorporate my underwater sketches in my sketchbook with additional notes. A separate post about materials contains information about my set-up.
Why do I draw while scuba diving? I think the simplest answer is that I just like to draw and I do it everywhere. But a little more complex version is this: the world underwater is very different from the world above the water, is very densely packed with information of all sorts and it is impossible to see and process all that is happening to you there. Drawing allows me to focus on things and pay attention for a little longer than is natural in a situation of such overwhelm. And it allows me to make notes and remember at least some of the questions that come up and all of this helps to remember and come back to these thoughts and images later. Nature journaling underwater goes on a whole new level!
Normally I make both sketches of the surrounding landscape, and aquatic life and also some a little more detailed ones with notes of a naturalistic nature: mark what depth I was at, possible position or situation with current, etc., and add information about patterns/textures/colors/behaviors that I observe. However, on this trip I did not have a chance to stay in one place and observe things - I was with a group of people who were moving all the time, and keeping with them was one of the priorities for me. So most of my sketches are super quick gestures trying to capture the movement and feeling of the place - with very few notes. I saw lots of different sharks (some disturbingly close), witnessed close-up some shark feeding and manta ray feeding, saw manta ray on a cleaning station, sting rays and eagle rays, several octopuses, eels, lots of fish in schools (swimming through one is a special treat - I am hoping there will be a video at some point and I will share it!). Also first ever meeting Mantis Shrimp! I wish I could draw all of this and for a longer time!
