To Be A Boat

This painting comes to you beautifully finished in a Tasmanian Oak floating frame, ready to hang on your wall.

The painting "To Be a Boat" captures a moment of serene beauty as a boat rests gently in shallow waters, its reflection mirrored on the calm surface. Inspired by childhood memories from the coastal town of Hervey Bay, as a young child I once expressed to my mother the desire to be a boat when I grew up - innocently drawn to the tranquil and solitary presence of boats.

I enjoyed this painting immensely. Rendered completely with a palette knife to capture the rustic surface of the boat and the muddy shallows. The speed of painting with palette knife is very satisfying. Letting each layer dry sufficiently to scratch back to the underlayers. My favourite part is the rope tied off, which is rendered by scratching loopy shapes in wet paint and …. ta da … it’s a tangled rope.

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Mine, isn’t your classic artist story. I wasn’t born with a paintbrush in my hand. In fact, as a child and young adult (and older adult) I showed little promise.

Then, I got to my mid/late forties, around the age when you stop giving a fig about what other people think. I went to an art class near my home on a whim and made a discovery. I can paint!
I often refer to this time as “When I found out I could paint”. Seems strange that this was locked up in me all that time. My life has two eras. Before Painting and After Painting. I’m now 5 years into my After Painting era and feel like a different person.

I see life through different eyes. Everything I look at, I see light and shadow, colour and hues. When I see a sunset, an ocean, a rock, flowing water, still water, reflections, I think about how I would paint it. I spend more time thinking about painting than actually doing. I love painting and my new perspective. And I want others to enjoy my labour of love. I hope you do.

I guess my love of seascapes comes from growing up in the Queensland coastal town, Hervey Bay. The ocean is part of me and I feel like, wherever I live, I can’t be too far from the coast. Even if I don’t go to the beach, I have to know it’s nearby.