INTERPRETATION AND VARIATIONS
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My intention with this series of paintings is to invite the viewer to concentrate on The Sea much more than they might usually. Observing the movement, shapes and colours of the seascape, influenced by the natural elements of sun, wind and rain.
These pictures came about because I would fish at Frazer Reef just north of Iluka, New South Wales Australia, often losing my bait (mostly to seagulls) in a short space of time. Then I would sit on the same rock each day and draw the sea, always facing towards north-east.
It was easy to make variations of this scene as the sea was never the same from one day to another.
Although the smaller pastel drawings were done in sequence over many enjoyable weeks, the larger pictures were painted afterwards at random over the following year.
To quote Matisse: “To render beauty accessible to all”
Where the horizon joins the sky with the sea is where my imagination takes over. Sometimes I did not have to look too far, and in this picture I left the horizon out and concentrated on the nuances of the water close to me.
At the time of this drawing the tide was very high, and the sun was shining on a rock pool in front of me with a slight breeze. As the tide rushed in little bubbles formed, thus we have the round shapes in contrast to the line marks.