Sealion Series: Sunset at Sea

The fourth 2023 Sealion Series print explores sea lions against an open-water sunset, one of the most technically demanding subjects in mokuhanga due to the complex gradations required to render a sky moving from warm chromatic intensity near the horizon to cooler tones overhead. Moilanen's command of bokashi — the graduated blending achieved by dampening the block before applying pigment — would be central to this composition. The sea lions, silhouetted or partially lit by the low sun, serve as a focal counterpoint to the expansive sky and sea. The print continues the series' examination of these animals within changing conditions of light and atmosphere characteristic of northern coastal environments.