For whatever reason, when I started painting, one of the first things I wanted to paint was a wave. I can't remember exactly what drew me to them, but I do distinctly remember googling the word wave to see what images might crop up (some times this helps inspire me a bit - remember "inspiration is everywhere!").
That said, I came across what I consider one of the best wave oil paintings I've seen by a British artist named Maggie Hambling. She's a relatively well known artist, who, in recent years painted some works of, and inspired by, the North Sea. Suffice it to say, her knife work far surpasses my own. Her ability to balance abstraction with shape and color really do simply make me want to paint. Check out the write up here with the painting "Crest of a Wave" pictured towards the bottom of the article.
Anyways, my first wave painting happened somewhat randomly. As usual, I'd been up late working on another painting and caught a last fleeting desire (which was enough to shove my drooping eyelids back open) to try to create something like what I'd seen in Hambling's Crest of a Wave.
I wish I could say there was more skill and time to it, but ultimately I sat down on the floor of my garage...ahem, my studio and just started painting. 45 minutes later and voila! My first wave painting.
What's ironic is that I've tried to paint waves several more times since then, but none of them came out quite like this one. The anticipation and frothiness to it give it a fantastic sense of urgency, while the colors simultaneously soothe what the whitecap stirs up.
This has been one of my favorites so far. I hope you enjoy it like I have. And while I'm hanging on to the original, I do have prints available if anyone is interested, in my Etsy shop.
That said, I came across what I consider one of the best wave oil paintings I've seen by a British artist named Maggie Hambling. She's a relatively well known artist, who, in recent years painted some works of, and inspired by, the North Sea. Suffice it to say, her knife work far surpasses my own. Her ability to balance abstraction with shape and color really do simply make me want to paint. Check out the write up here with the painting "Crest of a Wave" pictured towards the bottom of the article.
Anyways, my first wave painting happened somewhat randomly. As usual, I'd been up late working on another painting and caught a last fleeting desire (which was enough to shove my drooping eyelids back open) to try to create something like what I'd seen in Hambling's Crest of a Wave.
I wish I could say there was more skill and time to it, but ultimately I sat down on the floor of my garage...ahem, my studio and just started painting. 45 minutes later and voila! My first wave painting.
What's ironic is that I've tried to paint waves several more times since then, but none of them came out quite like this one. The anticipation and frothiness to it give it a fantastic sense of urgency, while the colors simultaneously soothe what the whitecap stirs up.
This has been one of my favorites so far. I hope you enjoy it like I have. And while I'm hanging on to the original, I do have prints available if anyone is interested, in my Etsy shop.