Playful

Size: 11 x 14 inches
Medium: Mixed media collage and paint
Signed by the artist
Original artwork
Ready to hang

From the Tide Keepers series — Art Inspiring Ocean Stewardship.

Playful is an original mixed-media kelp forest artwork by Dawn Leigh, created from hand-cut pieces of reclaimed paper layered with translucent acrylic paint. Two harbor seals move through a thriving underwater forest, surrounded by schools of fish, swaying kelp, and shifting currents of blue and green.

The seals show unmistakable curiosity and movement as they navigate their underwater world. Their playfulness draws the viewer into an ecosystem that is simultaneously beautiful, complex, and essential to life along the California coast.

Kelp forests are among the most dynamic marine ecosystems on the Pacific Coast, providing food, shelter, and nursery habitat for a remarkable diversity of species. In Playful, the kelp is more than a backdrop. It becomes part of the living architecture of the work—connecting the seals, fish, water, and surrounding environment into one interdependent system.

Built through Dawn Leigh's “painting with scissors” process, Playful combines reclaimed magazine pages and repurposed papers selected for their color, texture, pattern, and fragments of imagery. Individual pieces are cut and layered to construct the marine environment before translucent acrylic glazes bring the composition together. From a distance, the fragments become seals, kelp, fish, and moving water; viewed closely, the individual pieces remain visible and invite discovery.

Playful is part of the evolving Tide Keepers: Guardians of the Kelp Forest initiative, which uses art and visual storytelling to bring greater attention to California's kelp forests and inspire curiosity, connection, ocean literacy, and stewardship. The initiative has been selected as a BLUE THREAD project for inclusion on the UNESCO Ocean Literacy Portal.

A joyful yet meaningful work for collectors drawn to marine life, California's coastal ecosystems, environmental stewardship, and artwork that reveals new details each time it is viewed.

Perfect For:
• Ocean and marine-life collectors
• Seal and wildlife lovers
• Contemporary coastal interiors
• Collectors of environmental and conservation art
• Homes, offices, educational, and professional spaces
• Collectors drawn to themes of curiosity, connection, and healthy ecosystems

Artwork copyright remains with the artist.