The Sea and The Storm

Acrylic on Canvas.

I created this painting while attending David Giles' classes in Fremantle. I had been producing a dreamy, and rather dull, set of seascapes in muted shades of blue. I was painting outside, in the carpark, because there was no more room inside, and a sudden impulse seized me. I grabbed my cadmium orange and yellow, roughly mixed them and started flicking them at the canvas. Something released deep inside me and I started shaking, flicking and flinging paint at the canvas as hard as I could. It was terrifying, cathartic, and I felt shaken for days afterwards.

It took me years to understand that there was an anger inside me that needed to be recognised, honoured, and released. Under the surface of the calm sea was a raging storm, and that was the first time I saw it.