I was lucky enough to be able to sail and dive around our beautiful blue planet aboard the Cousteau team’s Calypso and on my sailboat with my friend Catherine Salisbury. This book is a summary of that blue voyage. Painting My Life in Blue is an autobiography and a collection of my paintings and drawings that I have made over the past 50 years. Like all the classical French impressionist artists, my paintings are based on my impressions as well as my sketches underwater. When you are a painter, no photo or film can replace the direct observation of the movements, nor the light and the colours under the surface.

Dominique Serafini

ABOUT DOMINIQUE SERAFINI:

As a young student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, I loved the atmosphere of May 1968. I was 22 years old and this whole period of new ideas made my head spin. Since that time when everything seemed possible, I chased my dreams, my dreams of freedom, love and art.

One man helped me realize my dreams - Jacques-Yves Cousteau, a true magician. For me, he opened the doors of the sea and on his team, I wrote and illustrated a series of graphic novels for children that told of the adventures of the Cousteau team. This beautiful adventure lasted 20 yearsI learned to dive, to respect the sea and to visit it silently and cautiously, in admiration of the marine creatures.

After the death of Captain Cousteau, I continued to live my life at sea, diving and sailing the seas with my brushes, watercolors and paintings. Drawing under the sea is always wonderful.

I continue to work for the defense of the marine environment, with Paul Watson (Sea Shepherd), Jean-Michel Cousteau (Ocean Futures) and Patrick Deixonne (Expedition 7th Continent). With my drawings, paintings and comics, I share my fascination for the underwater world with children, encouraging them to respect and defend it.