Medusa's Raft

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The summer following university I did what many Canadian 20-somethings do, and backpacked through Europe with one of my best girlfriends. I had just finished numerous art and art history courses, and suddenly found myself surrounded by everything I had been studying for the last four years. Visiting the Louvre was the pinnacle of this trip for me. It was like opening my text books and walking into them, only this time, the art was larger than a 4x4” thumbnail.

I remember the first time I was introduced to The Raft of the Medusa in high school. It’s such a captivating masterpiece of movement, conflicting tragedy and hope, and human struggle against the elements. This painting has always spoken to me, but when I saw it in real life, and came face to face with its sheer size and magnitude, I was staggered by it.

Since I began my Nauticus series, I have always wanted to incorporate this epic floating piece of debris into one of my paintings, but I knew the seascape had to be large in scale and intensity. When this large wood panel presented itself to me, I knew exactly how to put it to use and haven’t looked back since I inked in the unfolding scene.

Medusa's Raft is a 36x48" acrylic and ink painting on a 2" thick wood panel, and does not come framed.

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Nautical art has been a long established motif which for many was used to convey the beauty of their surroundings or the dramatic hardships of a sailor’s life. In my current series, I'm attempting to evoke the romantic gesture of transition, a theme found commonly thread through so many nautical compositions, almost creating a dreamlike state. To help accentuate this abstract upheaval often felt during transit, I've taken inspiration from J. M.W. Turner to develop my gestural painting style, while grounding the seascapes, by adding detailed illustrations of ships from both historical and fictional seafaring tales.