About this artwork

I work from created and found photographs and film stills, and I captured this image from a film still of the unofficial film clip for the Odesza song "Sun Models ft. Madelyn Grant" - one of my favourite songs to listen to in the studio whilst painting. I wanted to capture the youthful and freeing feeling with colour and movement as the surfer girl duck dives under the surface in the swell and bubbles. To do this I've used contrasting colours in teal and magenta along with the cool greens and ocean blues of the background. In this rectangular composition of an underwater world, the light highlights her head as she rises to the surface. I have developed my style using contemporary art techniques such as expressionism and pop art.

Named after a line in Adrienne Rich's poem ‘Diving into the Wreck’ where Rich is said to have used the prose as a metaphor for equality - she is both mermaid and merman under the water. Nothing quite as liberating as seeing a young woman take on the sea - in my view a courageous and exhilarating passion suited to the fiercest and most open heart.

This painting is painted using professional artist acrylic paints and mediums from Matisse, Golden, and Liquitex Professional Spray Paint. Golden Self Levelling Medium has been painted onto the canvas prior to painting the image - creating texture and an impression of movement to the surface of the painting. The painting is finished with a Matisse Gloss Varnish which protects the surface with a glossy finish. The professionally stretched canvas is fitted with a wire and two D rings and is ready to hang. I recommend to hang the painting directly to the wall on the D-rings or to a minimum of two hooks to the wire.

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