A few days ago I found some notes and
sketches that I made during the storms that thrashed the northern beaches
earlier this year. The sketches relate to the work I am completing now for a
show in September.
“It is hard to find a visual language for
this morning’s ocean. Do the waves peak or curl? The perpetual thrashing
doesn’t allow me time to fully comprehend it.
Being here, sitting with and in the storm,
I can feel how it moves and I hope that this sensation will be enough for me to
be able to translate the image to canvas once I get back to the studio.
The tempest from the sky has abated and the
beating wind that lashed the shoreline last night has transformed into mist and
steady rain. The sea rages on, however. As if in retaliation or triumph, the
storm seems to come from within the ocean now.
I have tried, on the previous page to
express the sea with Conte but this was not as
effective as the Chinese ink wash. Perhaps the ink is better to describe the
waves because it is fluid and moves across the page as waves move across the
earth.”