Evening star., 1927-11-27
PAINTER TOSTUDy
COLORS UNDER SEA
Haweis Hopes to Learn Sc
crets of Pigment Mixtures
in Tropical Fishes.

ITnder the surface of translucent
Pacific waters near Honolulu, whefe
schools of humuhumus and kalaioas
are like dartins ocean flower gardens
Stephen Haweis. noted Washington
nature artist, this Winter will study
eome Of the most brilliant color com
hinations in the world.
He will attempt to learn some ot the
secrets of pigment mixtures III NV
scales of tropical fishes in an eUot'
70 reproduce them on canvas an"
MANY of his observations will he made
in diving helmet among the hSi
themselves.
Mr.. Haweis. who was q men'oet
of the Smithsonan-Chrysle eNredi'
+ton 70 East Africa last year. mas
inst completed his work OF plctut'hS
in oil the country and its population
through which this party moved
Tho fish saws Mr. Haweis. has mnch
"a teach the painter. hut the lesson
has gone largely unstudied hecauSe o
the difficulty Of isolatiuG the material
The sea flsh of the Pacific near
Hawaii are among the most ofiii'a"'
in the world with curious and striking
combinations OF blue. colds. pinNS;
reds and greens which can he foun"
elsewhere only by physicists IN Stu"N'
ing the spectrum with expensive ap-
raratus and which are not entered Oh
any color catalogues.
Colors Are Opalescent.
"A brilliant blue fish. for instance
js NOT merely colored an odd shaue
of blue" says Mr.. Haweis. but seems
to carry blue light. 1t is opaiesceh''
The light seems to rise from lhe po"H
and often TO change almost lhstah'
taneously from one color TO announcer
II is something like the opal amonS
nrecious stones and constitutes a sun
;ect 1,non which very little research
has been conducted either by sc'en-
fists or artists. And yet more tnan
an anateurish knowledge must he
obtained before we can hope to give
the true nicture of that wonderfuIly
r;rnented life Of the ocean depths.
ssThe changes of color in fish are
more remarkable than anything III
that line ever seen outside the water.
Some saw these reflect the changing
emotions of the fish, others that II Is
a protective device. but the actuai
causes are very obscure. 1t is enough
10 say that there are few spectacleS
in nature more beautiful.
Take, for example. the dolphin or
a
swift and savage. which sometimes Is
captured near shore. In the ocean
II is not a conspicuous creature. Its
scales are black and silver. But when
YOU pull il out and leave it on the
deck TO die what amounts To miracle
takes place AS il dies Ii changes
color through the whole range of the
rainbow. producing some beautitui
combinations which cannot be found
elsewhere The Nassau grouper. one
of the Bahaman fishes | studied. proh-
ably is the most remarkable in this
respect. Almost simultaneously II
will change through about nine diff
ferent colors when it is frightened.
Laid to Emotions.
The sunset-like dying Of the dol
phin, Mr.. Haweis says. may lie eX-
plained on the theory that in its last
few minutes of life the fish runs
through the whole Eamut of emotions
of which it is capable, although this
explanatio may demand more men
tai activity than usually is credited
TO fish.
At the lower zones Of ocean life,
Mr. Haweis explained. where sun
light does not penetrate and every
thing is in intense darkness, the
nght-carrying quality becomes real in
stead of an illusion and the pkos-
phorescent fishes shed so brilliant a
light that they actually light up the
blackness. This, he believed, may be
an evolution from the apparent light.
carrying of the surface fishes who
appear as if they were inclosed in
envelopes of light. The fish, he said,
is one of the greatest works of art of
nature.
Haweis will attempt to take NOV
ing pictures of undersea life, follow
ing the lead of DR.. Paul Bartsch of
the Smithsonian Institution. and after
ward tint them in the appropriate
colors which he has noted down from
observation. The most rolorful Of the
Hawaiian fishes bear such names as
humuhumus, kalaloas. ivivi=, larhaus,
ulaulas and ohuas. They seldom are
represented in collections.
Painting from nature. Mr.. Lewis
said, has evolved from the representa-
ton merely of still life and color to
tire added representation IF motion
and might be termed tee production
of stationary moving pictures Py
some sacrifice Of form ar effect is
produced where a slight change of
posture Is seen every time the OBJ
server looks at a picture.
Motion Caught by Brush.
This theory he will try to carry out
In his undersea paintings, giving the
impression of the schools of fish actu.
ally in motion.
In his African pictures, which were
placed on exhibition at the Admins.
tration Building of the National Zoo.
logical Park last week, Mr.. Haweis
showed the working out of this theory
of art in the countenances of the
native negroes. Not only the emo
tions which crossed the face of the
sitter but the slight movements of the
body were caught by the brush.
'The old-fashioned human figure on
canvas simply showed the subject
sitting or standing STILL" Mr.. Haweis
explained. But nobody does sit or
stand still unless they make special
effort to do so and then they never
look natural. a person or an animal
always is moving in some way or
other and these movements are as
much a part of the impression YOU