“That love for the sea had always been a part of me, but it was something I admired from a distance – through the TV screen, from swimming pools, the safety of the shore and tide pools, from my Marine studies in university, always just out of reach.”
– Hannah Zena
Hannah’s earliest ocean-related memory goes back to her childhood. Her neighbor, Ronda, was like a second mother to her, and she sparked a yearning for the sea that would never fade. One of Hannah’s earliest memories is of sitting beside Ronda, wide-eyed and completely engrossed, watching “The Little Mermaid”. Everything was magical – every single color on screen, the courage of Ariel, and the fantasy of being a mermaid.
Her father also played a key role in introducing Hannah to the water, enrolling her in swimming lessons when she was quite young and visiting aquariums with her. Her mother always encouraged her to value and notice the little things in life and to embrace what she loved. Her siblings provided a haven where she could freely express her creativity, without any limitations or rules. Her brother Ramsey, as a little kid, would design board games, build toys from scratch, and unique website ideas, constantly inspiring creative thinking in his younger sisters. He grew up to be a mechanical engineer and continued to help Hannah with his innovative thinking.
Today, Hannah’s career revolves around the sea. After completing her undergraduate studies in Marine Science with a Master’s in Science Education, she is also an artist who paints imaginative portraits of the water, while being a certified PADI diver. Tens of thousands of people follow her ocean art across platforms, and appreciate her aquatic sunsets and turquoise waves, her mermaids and galleons.
Taking the Plunge
For the longest time, the sea was something Hannah admired from a distance – through the TV screen, from swimming pools, from the safety of the shore and tide pools, all the way through to her Marine studies in college – so close, but just out of reach.
But then she met her husband, an advanced PADI scuba diver @PursuitofFish and dive rescuer, and he inspired and challenged her to do something she’d never thought she would have the courage to: to swim into the depths of the sea, 60 feet below the surface. Hannah still remembers how overwhelming the idea was. It was beyond anything she’d ever imagined; the vastness and the feeling of being so small inside something so endless terrified her. But, with his encouragement, she took the plunge – literally and figuratively, and went for her PADI Open Water scuba certification.
And then came a transformative moment – one that truly opened a new door.
On her very first dive, Hannah found herself in the presence of giants – two magnificent whale sharks, gliding effortlessly through the blue. Suddenly, they were right next to her, and it felt like time had stopped. The ocean embraced her, revealing its secrets to her, gifting her a rare moment that she had never even thought was possible. That was the tipping point where Hannah went from being an admirer of the sea to being part of it.
From then on, each dive became a new adventure. Hannah swam alongside schools of fish that moved like liquid silver, watched sea turtles drift with the current, and admired the mysterious movements of eels weaving through coral crevices. She encountered playful dolphins, jellyfish pulsing like floating lanterns, and manta rays soaring through the ocean depths. In her new environment, sharks glided past with quiet power, and sea lions twirled in the water like undersea acrobats.
Becoming an Artist
With every dive she completed, Hannah discovered more wonders of the ocean. It wasn’t just the breathtakingly diverse marine life, either – the ocean itself captivated her. The way the water shifted and changed; reflecting and refracting light as it moved – everything was magical. It was in those subtle transformations, the way the colors shifted, and the sudden revelation of the depths through the prism of water, that she felt the ocean’s true essence reach her.
Those moments were to form the essence of her art.
Hannah’s first foray into the world of art was a visual diary of the ocean experiences that craved expression. Her husband saw her artwork slowly emerging at home and encouraged her to share her art with the world, to apply to exhibitions, and to start her own business. Her brother Adam, who started a successful business at the age of 22, was always eager to share all his knowledge, and taught her to have a growth-mindset. But the most important thing he taught Hannah was how crucial it was to implement honesty, kindness, and complete faith in God as a businesswoman connecting with others.
Overcoming Challenges
But success didn’t come overnight. Finding opportunities was a real challenge, and even just thinking of an entry point into the art world was not easy. Galleries didn’t have the highest response rate, and things became discouraging.
Her experiences taught her empathy and how important it was to support others, grow with each other, and to believe in the limitless possibilities of creativity together, as a community. She also learned the power of authenticity, and how it is key to becoming a true artist.
Hannah found that nothing could dull the light she had found in the ocean or silence the stories she was inspired to tell through her art.
The perseverance paid off. As she started to get responses and her work gained a large following and critical acceptance, she became known as an established artist. She met wonderful supportive people within the art community. Mentors crossed her path, each offering a different wisdom and insight. She found herself in an encouraging and honest community.
Hannah is thrilled that her art practice has grown in an ethical, authentic, and professional way. Within just six months, she achieved several milestones, including selling over 100 pieces of art, creating her own brand and gift shop, and exhibiting her work at over 15 art shows throughout California. She also developed an ocean artist curriculum for the San Francisco Wildlife Society, contributed as an Artist Judge for a statewide K-12 competition at Cal State Fullerton, and received awards such as the mixed media Fine Arts Award at Dove Gallery. Additionally, she established a strong online following with thousands of followers and received international recognition through publications like Artist Talk Magazine and Artist Close-Up in London, United Kingdom.
Painting Process
Hannah starts all her ocean paintings with acrylics, using them to block in the main composition, colors, and movement. Acrylics dry quickly, and this allows her to build up layers and make adjustments without waiting too long. She usually begins by covering the canvas with a thin washed base layer of color that sets the tone. But sometimes she just starts on a plain white canvas. From there, she loosely sketches out the composition, making sure the flow of the waves, horizon line, and any focal elements are in the right place.
Once the base is down, she starts layering in more colors and details, working from broad strokes to more refined forms. For seascapes, she focuses on creating depth in the water, using darker tones in the distance and lighter, more vibrant colors in the foreground. She uses sweeping brush strokes for wave movement, blending blues, teals, and whites to give the water a sense of motion. If she’s painting a sunset, she carefully blends warm tones into the sky, making sure they reflect naturally on the water below. Underwater scenes require a different approach – she focuses on creating a sense of depth with gradients of blue and green, then slowly builds up the background to make it seem like the painting is beginning from far away.
Once she is happy with the acrylic base, she transitions to oils, or sometimes continues with more acrylic layers. Oils allow her to refine everything, adding depth, smoother transitions, and more vibrant highlights. Since they dry slower, Hannah has more time to blend, which is especially useful for creating soft skies, glistening water reflections, or misty sea spray. She uses glazing techniques to deepen certain areas, giving the ocean more realism and dimension. Dry brushing helps add texture to foamy waves or rough rock formations, while a palette knife is great for creating bold highlights in areas like breaking waves or the crest of the ocean.
In the final stage, she steps back to fine-tune details – adding soft highlights where the light catches the water, deepening shadows for contrast, and making sure everything feels balanced. This process lets her create ocean paintings that feel full of life, movement, and atmosphere, whether it’s a peaceful sunset over the sea, a crashing wave, or an underwater world.
Analysis and Process – “Bay Break”
A towering wave near the shore is one of the most majestic sights in all of creation. It has both the eternal power of a mountain and the fluid grace of the ocean. In “Bay Break”, you notice the colors of the wave, and the interplay between light and foam, before you even take in the immensity of the unending wall of water.
For this ocean wave painting, Hannah began with a 24 x 24 inch cotton canvas, priming it with a smooth layer of gesso to enhance the vibrancy of her acrylic paints. She sketched a composition to map out the movement of the wave.
Starting with the background, she blended deep blues, teals, and hints of ultramarine to establish visual cues hinting at the depths of the ocean. She used broad, sweeping brush strokes and a wet-on-wet technique to create a seamless transition between colors.
For the wave itself, she built up layers of transparent blues and greens, shaping the crest with a combination of a palette knife and fine detail brushes to capture the motion. Adding white highlights with a dry brush technique helped bring the frothy foam to life, while splattering paint created the effect of sea spray.
Analysis and Themes – “Sea Breeze”
Most people, when looking at paintings of the ocean, wish that they were there. This is especially true of “Sea Breeze”; in addition, it makes you imagine how relaxing an afternoon spent on a small rocky quiet beach would be. It makes you marvel at how the clouds look like towering hills, with the waves below playing the role of prancing translucent horses. One particularly notable quality of the painting is how closely the sand on the shore captures the feel of real-life sand after the waves have receded.
In “Sea Breeze”, Hannah set out to depict a coastal beach with jagged rocks and patches of sand. Given the geography, such a place might usually feature raw, untamed, choppy waters.
But then, for just a fleeting moment, the light shifts, and the whole tone of the beach changes. Hannah was able to capture how the sun strikes the water at just the right angle, touching the surface with glittering sparks, and turning the sea into a luminous portal into another world.
Hannah loves sharing her experiences with the sea in all her paintings. At a time such as the one depicted in “Sea Breeze”, the turquoise colors appear, the waves glitter like scattered gems, and the entire shore hums with an unspoken invitation.
At this instant, as if by some hidden clock, the beach reveals its secret, a mystic gateway into the enchanting world of the sea and the untold stories it holds. She was able to capture the coming together of reality and wonder, and tried to imbue the painting with the call of the ocean, the silent pull that never leaves a sea-lover’s heart.
Analysis and Themes – “Fathoms Below”
“Fathoms Below” showcases another aspect of Hannah’s work – one where she adds imagined details to aquatic objects to create fantasy worlds that draw us in with how immersive they are. It feels like what would happen if a painter specializing in realism worked in a parallel fantasy universe.
Which of us, as a child, has not dreamed of finding a sunken galleon full of treasure, of swimming undisturbed through the submerged corridors of a long-ago princeling or pirate, of finding ancient wooden chests, still intact, packed to the brim with gold doubloons and jewels and silver goblets for lords and ladies to sip from? “Fathoms Below” speaks to our inner children, and it is very powerful in its time travel-like ability to make us imagine and wander with the winged feet of dreams.
While planning and executing “Fathoms Below”, Hannah knew that she wanted to depict the wonders of a sunken ship. Although it no longer sails the vast seas, it has discovered a new world of beauty, crystals, and life – fathoms beneath the water surface.
In her mind canon of the ancient wreck, sea creatures have found a new home to live in, antique trinkets have become hidden treasure for those adventurous enough to seek them, and the broken ship has been an exciting destination filled with stories and history, revealing its secrets to the divers that explore it.
The Future
Hannah still continues teaching science through art. She feels her biggest sense of accomplishment when she hears in person how her art affects others, about their stories and the battles they have faced. She especially loves taking her school-going nieces in the water and instilling a sense of courage, kindness, and passion for the little things. When she hears their eagerness to learn about the marine life she saw, and their questions about whether sharks bite and if mermaids exist, it’s almost like hearing an echo of her younger self. Hannah hopes that they may one day inspire others to go on the same journey.
Now that Hannah has made a career as an established artist, she’s realized that she doesn’t want her paintings to merely be something nice to look at; she wants them to mean something. She wants to use her voice for the voiceless. She wants her art to remind others of the resilience, power, and breathtaking wonder of the sea, helping them find that same strength within themselves.
Hannah hopes that her art sparks something in people – a reminder that they are stronger than they think, that they are capable of reaching horizons they once thought were out of reach. More than anything, she wants to encourage others not to be afraid of life, to step beyond the screen, to embrace its wonders, and to realize that we are all part of it.
Links
Hannah Zena: Website: https://www.zenainspires.com/.
Hannah Zena: Instagram Art Page: https://www.instagram.com/zenainspires/.
Hannah Zena: Instagram Art Gifts Page: https://www.instagram.com/zenainspires.gifts/.