An art project
Do you love the ocean, surfing, or have a connection with the sea?
Waves are pure energy, often formed thousands of kilometres away, far out to sea. They are a transference of power from one element to another, from wind to water and finally to land. They can be a source of wonder and enjoyment, or fear and devastation. Sometimes even a bit of both.
I'm painting 57 waves on canvas boards that measure 5 x 7 inches. Working in oils, I aim to capture these exquisite moments where that wave energy is finally spent upon the shore.
Paintings for sale via Instagram or contact me here.
Follow me on Instagram for updates and to see the latest paintings.
The paintings
01 Snapper Slab
There was a large swell running through Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast in Queensland. This a moment of beauty amongst the chaos.
02 Broken Head Back Beach
With the tail end of a tropical low further north, there was lots of rain and equally as much energy in the ocean. Walking over the headland at Broken Head I found this gem amongst all the turbulence.
03 Brunswick Heads, Break Wall
On a balmy summers morning, around first light on the beach at Brunswick Heads. With small glassy waves kissing the shore, the coastal population greeted the day and worshipped the ocean.
04 Snapper, behind the rock
White water explosions, as wave energy is spent on the rock shelf at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast.
05 Anglesea River Mouth
Early light across a glassy wave, on this crisp winters morning.
06 From Above
One of the many tall, rolling headlands of the New South Wales coast, provides the vantage point that sees this swell marching towards the shore. With coastal Banksias in flower.
07 Brunswick Heads, shore break
A humid summers morning, with a small shore break relinquishing the last of it's energy on the san at Brunswick Heads.
08 Anglesea, broken sky
Morning wanderings, the clouds so heavy, it feels like the sky needs to crack them open to let the light of the morning through.
09 South Golden Slab
A Windblown afternoon on South Golden Beach, with a solid shore break slapping on the shallow sandbank.
10 Pacific Juice
Outer reefs, off Pacific Ocean islands, concentrate the power of deep ocean swells as they rise quickly out of deep-sea trenches and explode on shallow coral encrusted reefs. This is a memory of one such wave I encountered in Samoa.
11 Eastern View
The stretch of coast along Eastern View, on the Surf Coast of Victoria, is afforded a degree of protection from the strong winter northwesterly winds. An elusive lefthander hugs the inside sandbar and reels off with plenty of Bass Strait push behind it.
12 Samoan Heat
On a surf trip and holiday to the Samoan Islands, with the water temperature hovering close to that of the air, and even inverted early in the morning. With the water being much warmer than the air. The feeling of dropping into the ocean at this latitude is something special and hard to describe. Can you feel the tropicalness?
13 Point Addis
Only when there’s a large winter swell will you see this scene unfold, looking from the usually protected cove towards the Bells Beach headland further east.
14 Samoan Glass
That time of day before the land heats up warmer than the ocean and the thermal currents are in limbo. No wind means water as smooth as glass.
15 Red Bluff
The shore break at Red Bluff doing it’s thing. Unrelenting power from the Indian Ocean.
16 Red Bluff Impact Zone
The impact zone, “when the wave breaks here, don’t be there!” Another powerful face of the Red Bluff shore break.
17 Red Bluff, No Escape
Being caught inside with a large shore break looming, and living to tell the tale is a right of passage for surfers. A favourite story around the campfire after a day of waves.
18 South Golden Light
South Golden Beach and that morning backlight. Steamy summer mornings can't be beaten.
19 Cabarita, morning gold
Crisp backlit mornings on the east coast of Australia provide a backdrop like no other.
20 Midnight Motion
The otherworldliness of a nocturn seascape, a reminder that mother nature rolls on as we tuck ourselves into bed for the night.
21 Sand Dredge
Shallow sandbanks and lots of water moving around can mean lots of paddling, good timing and a bit of luck required to not be caught inside.
22 Distant Dream
One of the oceans greatest powers is its ability to evoke a sense of wonder, imagination and adventure.
23 Flat Light
A silver metallic-like visual sensation that can be felt when the sky and ocean blend so seamlessly that the definition between the two becomes almost transient.
24 Surface Deviations
Endless complexities of environmental reflections, returned by the salty surface can provide unexpected perspectives through a distorted lens.
25 Slow Down
The inertia of the ocean driven by external forces, gravitational pull and weather patterns, drives ever onwards until finally expelled when meeting the shore.
26 Descending Haze
The atmosphere is heightened as it meets the ocean, varying temperatures of air and water interact and materialise as building clouds, fog and mist.
27 Broad Shoulders
When large amounts of wave energy meet a quickly rising sea bed, the ocean can put on some it's most amazing acrobatic acts.
28 Lucid Power
Thick and luscious folds of energy encased in water, finally expressed in its theatrical finest.
29 Gentle
The gentle fade of a swell, as the ocean takes a breather before it's next exhalation.
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