4
mins read
Meet Holly Fisher, the Artist Whose Paintings Inspired the Film
published
November 1, 2022
location
RHODE ISLAND
discipline
All Sports
Meet Holly Fisher, the Artist Whose Paintings Inspired the Film
copy Holly Fisher portrait hero image Copy
Meet Holly Fisher, the Artist Whose Paintings Inspired the Film
published
November 1, 2022
location
RHODE ISLAND
discipline
All Sports
4
mins read
Holly Fisher
“11th Hour Racing wanted to create a love letter to the ocean… and to water.”
It's a bit unique (although incredibly helpful) to have a visual representation of the feeling you need to create with the story and film. These paintings are not traditional storyboards, nor traditional film mood boards – they seem to be more. It’s like art begets art. Can you explain how this came to be?
The brief was that 11th Hour Racing needed to pitch this film idea to producers, directors, film crews, and storytellers, and to capture the vibe of the film they wanted to use something uniquely visual – less of a storyboard, and more of a creative piece to really convey the mood, bringing to the table something different that would show humans’ fascination with water.
In our first conversations, we hadn't talked about paintings or watercolor or any specifics like that, it was left up to me. Originally, we spoke about sketches but as an artist, I wanted to create a story.
We discussed themes such as hope, inspiration, beauty, dance, sport, and elements such as movement, depth, and water.
11th Hour Racing wanted to make sure I captured the love and passion they were trying to express with this film. Their goal was not to create an educational film, rather they wanted to create a love letter to the ocean… and to water.
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I love that – a love letter to water.
Yeah, this is like a love letter – a way to help people fall in love with water and connect with water in a way that makes them want to do better in this world. So my entry into that love felt like it was best captured with awe. Awe then led to the appreciation, and then the awareness, that we cannot take our ocean, nor our water, for granted.
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Can you explain that a little further? The idea of playing with scale in your paintings?
It's like right down to the very smallest cell and up to the highest mountain, or down to the deepest trench – we are so small in comparison to all of nature. And, after my conversation with 11th Hour Racing, I really came away with needing to leave people in awe of water.
That’s when the lightbulb went off – like, oh, this is quite simple. We must juxtapose ourselves even on a cellular level with how big the world is to really emphasize how fragile we are as people, and how fragile the world is too.
I kept coming across images and I kept asking myself, what is creating awe for me? And it was always that juxtaposition: we are so tiny and a water drop is so tiny, and yet a water drop can be so powerful when it combines with more drops.
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What was the painting process like?
The actual paintings were the fastest part of the whole project. At first, I tried to go horizontal because I really wanted to capture the vastness. But it didn’t work. After a few tries at that, I was like, this is about depth. It's about depth and height. So, then I started thinking – how do we make it big?
In 2020, 11th Hour Racing had an idea to create a film using three sports related to water that the group was passionate about: freediving, [free]skiing, and offshore sailing. The end goal of the film was simple, to inspire viewers to advocate for our ocean’s health – through mysticism, wonder, awe, and captivation. To commence the production journey, the team commissioned Newport artist, Holly Fisher, to paint a visual representation of their ideas.
We sat down with Holly to discuss her process of creating the three paintings that inspired a film. The final triptych is 4.25" x 11.125" and Holly used watercolor.
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It's a bit unique (although incredibly helpful) to have a visual representation of the feeling you need to create with the story and film. These paintings are not traditional storyboards, nor traditional film mood boards – they seem to be more. It’s like art begets art. Can you explain how this came to be?
The brief was that 11th Hour Racing needed to pitch this film idea to producers, directors, film crews, and storytellers, and to capture the vibe of the film they wanted to use something uniquely visual – less of a storyboard, and more of a creative piece to really convey the mood, bringing to the table something different that would show humans’ fascination with water.
In our first conversations, we hadn't talked about paintings or watercolor or any specifics like that, it was left up to me. Originally, we spoke about sketches but as an artist, I wanted to create a story.
We discussed themes such as hope, inspiration, beauty, dance, sport, and elements such as movement, depth, and water.
11th Hour Racing wanted to make sure I captured the love and passion they were trying to express with this film. Their goal was not to create an educational film, rather they wanted to create a love letter to the ocean… and to water.
No items found.
Holly Fisher
“I really wanted to get at how small we are compared to the earth and the ocean, but also that we're made up of it.”
In 2020, 11th Hour Racing had an idea to create a film using three sports related to water that the group was passionate about: freediving, [free]skiing, and offshore sailing. The end goal of the film was simple, to inspire viewers to advocate for our ocean’s health – through mysticism, wonder, awe, and captivation. To commence the production journey, the team commissioned Newport artist, Holly Fisher, to paint a visual representation of their ideas.
We sat down with Holly to discuss her process of creating the three paintings that inspired a film. The final triptych is 4.25" x 11.125" and Holly used watercolor.
copy Holly Fisher carousel 5 portrait Copy 2
copy Holly Fisher carousel 5 portrait Copy
When you’re in the middle of the ocean, the water column goes from beneath the surface all the way up to the stratosphere. Making the paintings vertical allowed me to show the water’s journey from the top down, and then back up again. Being vertical also allowed me to show that we humans only fit in a very (very) narrow horizontal bar in the middle.
Previously unseen
ABOUT THE PROJECT
To highlight the connection between water and sports, we’ve brought together an internationally renowned freediver, a world champion freeskier, and professional offshore sailing team. Like water, these athletes move in unison with their mind, body, and the present moment. Together, these athletes bring to life their fullest expressions– like water, they flow.
ABOUT THE TEAM
We chose athletes who are not only the best at what they do but also align with 11th Hour Racing’s mission to protect and restore the ocean. We hired local storytelling teams who are also some of the best in the world. Each part of the production was carefully considered to come together as one holistic story.
