Painting Underwater

Is it possible to do a painting underwater?

In this photograph, noted sea-life artist Stanley Meltzoff (1917-2006) appears to be “plein-water” painting on the sea floor.

In the photo, he is in scuba gear, using an easel, a palette, a brush, and apparently, oil paints.

But the artist explained that it was a hoax. “Having often been asked how I paint a fish underwater,” he said, “I decided to photograph the process for an exhibition catalogue, and I included the obvious impossibilities in the photo to make it unbelievable."

“The figure standing before the easel has no mask and so is unable to see underwater, but people take it seriously and ask what sort of paints I use and how I get the fish to pose.” (quoted from Meltzoff & Rivkin, 2010)

Above is a studio painting by Meltzoff.

Earlier artists such as Chris E. Olsen, above, (1880-1965) actually painted underwater, preparing for the ocean backdrops in American Museum of Natural History (Thanks, Adrien and AMNH).

And Olsen wasn’t even the first.