Hawaii

BHawaii was created after pouring through many, many photographs. I'm fascinated by the light patterns waves create in shallow water, as well as the undulating shapes their motion creates in the sand, so I placed these elements at the forefront of the painting. The water is shallow in the foreground, suggesting the viewer is positioned on or near the beach, but I left the beach out of the foreground in order to keep the focus on the water. Instead, the beach curves around outside the purview of the image on the right side and appears again on the horizon. I've never been to Hawaii, so this is another work created based upon a combination of research and imagination. I've read about other people with ME/CFS using their imaginations to help cope with not being able to get out much (or at all) and I find this really helpful. Being able to imagine is important for everyone and one of the reasons I choose not to paint realistically is that I find paintings that are less realistic work better for me in opening my sense of imagination.

Hawaii, 2017, 24 x 20 Inches, Oil on Canvas