The Wild Sea

By Alison Vickery
 
Original artworks
Mixed media on paper/canvas/board
Framed
Image sizes: various - see below
Framed size: various - see below
 
Alison likes to catch light, movement and a sense of the place. This new range of sea semi-abstract paintings is typical of her lively, intuitive style. She finds the subjects for her art by just getting out and looking, on a specific art expedition or simply a spontaneous walk.
 
"I work in sketch books, hardly looking at the page, responding with marks to the feel I get from the happening weather. A thin pencil line may be following the flight of a bird. Thick brush strokes may be responding to the waving crashing in. Fast edgy lines could be a sudden squall of hail. It's all about recording the feel and atmosphere of the scene.
 
"I then do sketches from my sketches which I play around with, cutting up collage to explore different compositions (some of which become pieces of work in their own right ). Next, with all this reference about but definitely not right in front of me - I don't want to copy anything as it becomes stilted - I start painting intuitively to create the essence and atmosphere of the subject.
 
"Working mainly in acrylic paint but also with pencil, water-soluble pencils and crayons and anything to hand, I build up the colour and marks - putting on, scraping off, defining, obliterating, the story of the process reflecting the dynamic of the weather."
 
In order, as they appear above:
 
Continual Motion - mixed media on canvas 1m sq - unframed - £1195
"This piece was inspired by a very productive painting trip to the Penwith area of Cornwall, a place I love and visit as much as I can. I like to spend lots of time painting and drawing on the coast path, watching the continual movement and wildness of the sea.
"Returning to my studio I had this need to paint a large, wild piece based on the experience. 
"I've become really interested in what is below the surface of the sea in this area and the history and geology: the materials I've used reflect this, with collage and iron filings and layering."
 
Waves Hitting - mixed media on cradedled board. Framed - 54cm sq - £645
"Painted and collaged from lots of drawings and paintings worked on in situ at Botallack and Pendeen in Cornwall. Responding to the crash of the waves coming in, onto and over an area full of mines and history."
 
Big Waves, Big Clouds - collage & mixed media on paper. Framed. H: 42cm x W: 41cm - £495
"A piece responding to a visit to the Port Issac area when a storm hit. It was so turbulent you had trouble standing. I took photos then worked on sketches from these back at the accomodation, with the storm crashing outside. I started to paint from these then used the images as collage to investigate compositions and really liked the sense of movement achieved with the fragmented pieces."
 
Sea Splash (framed H: 35 x W: 43cm - £345) and Sea Spray (framed H: 27cm x W: 33cm - £245)
"These mixed media on paper works were painted on-the-spot to capture the energy and movement of the waves."
 
Incoming Tide on the Lichen and Floating on the Incoming Tide - Both mixed media on board Framed 29 x 54cm - £425 each or £395 each for the pair
"Worked from lots of drawings and colour notes at Porth Ledden, Cornwall, with the tide coming in and surrounded by the beautiful colours and textures of the shoreline, the lichen, the flora and the rocks.