Global Ocean Series
Short stories
The process of creating and considering this project was incredibly meaningful and informative. While painting each location, I learned so much about the place that I was painting through speaking with friends who were either from the location originally, or had travelled there, and we enjoyed enriching conversation about the place being depicted. I listened to music from the continents, did plenty of reading, and looked at endless images of the locations. The painted images became a combination of all of the above - after all of it had been diffused into my mind, heart and hands. It felt like travelling around the globe, while being at home quarantining during the current pandemic. More importantly than travelling, though, it was a learning experience for me in seeking to understand each world continent a little bit more. During this time of global uncertainty and instability due to the pandemic, there is a global unity felt that, to me, is an opportunity for learning and drawing closer to other lands and peoples. Looking at maps, researching ocean beds and currents, trade routes, and seeking to understand notions of political power and the the biases that colonialism has imprinted on the world with regards to dominant perceptions of continents and countries, I came to understand my humble place in the world just a tiny little bit more.
This project is intended, most of all, for raising money for families in need at this time. It is also created with the intention of spreading a message of Unity, Love and Respect for all peoples and lands, As the ocean meets each body of land without favouritism and partiality, I believe that we owe it to one another to see each other in the same way - with eyes that recognize one another’s equal share of dignity, unique gifts and inherent sacred value. The same goes for the lands on which we all live.
I will share short pieces of writing to go along with each painting, combining facts that friends shared with me, and tales of their experiences in these places, as well as subjective meanings which emerged for me while creating each piece. Thank you for reading these words!
Sunrise over Kolkata, India, Asia, 2020, oil on canvas, 30 x 40”
This painting is dedicated to the continent of Asia, and particularly, the country of India. Having never visited India, this place holds a sense of mystery and majesty for me. The image itself was created by combining various photographs and using my own imagination based on stories that friends told me. I learned a little more about trade routes and histories of colonialism in India... These shores on the coast, meant to be set in the area of Bakkhali Beach, West Bengal near current-day Kolkata, were frequented for trade, as they were a trading post for the East India Trading Company. Apparently, the sand on the beaches (in nearby Goa, in particular) is white as snow, and so soft under your feet that it feels like you're walking on powdered sugar when you step in it... The waves apparently roll in so softly, gently lapping against wide open beaches, with a gentleness and silkiness which is unique to these shores. This scene depicts Sunrise, just after someone has wandered down to the water’s edge and left their footprints in the soft sand.
Asia has for a long time been understood by the West as the Land of the Sunrise... 'Oriens' means Rising. It all depends on where you're standing, but to Europeans Asia is in the 'East'.
A deeper meaning which emerged while painting this is the notion of 'Unshakeable Faith'. Perhaps it is this idea that the West has of the East as being especially spiritual which led me to think this way, or it was the pandemic asking all of us to cultivate unshakeable faith, but as I finished this painting, I was so inspired by this notion of fostering an Unshakeable Faith in this lifetime.
Being a painter, in particular, takes a lot of Faith! Faith in the process, the larger story… that the big glob of paint in front of you is becoming something meaningful. Everything is meaningful, though; every step of the process is just as important as the final image. Every person that you speak with, every location you visit, everything you eat, think and do becomes a part of your art. Having said that, creating this painting taught me that I hope to become a person who has Unshakeable Faith, trusting that every step is an important facet of a larger harmonious story. That's my goal! Don’t we all need that?
Thanks to my friends who told me a little bit about India during this process!
Swirling Finale in Cinque Terre, Italy, Europe, 2020, oil on canvas, 30 x 36”
This painting is dedicated to the continent of Europe. I have personally had the privilege of visiting Italy and being at this very spot depicted, and I recall the smell of the salty air and the sound of the foaming water swirling around the rocks, before the tide draws the water back and and shimmering charcoal-coloured rocks are left wet, shimmering and bare in the Sun. This painting took on a conceptual direction which became fused with the shocking happenings of May 25, 2020, which occurred while I was painting it.
The title for this piece alludes to an ending because I was creating this piece during the tragic mourning of the life of George Floyd, who was killed by police for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 to a store clerk in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. The historical moment during which this painting was created was palpable, and became immediately absorbed into the work. I had to take one week off from painting it, because I was processing all that was going on.
As the world started to collectively unravel, even if just theoretically, the structures of White Suprematism, exposing its indescribable and far-reaching harms, a tiny spark of hope emerged which hinted that perhaps this could be the moment when White Suprematism as a dominant force starts to go down the drain. At the very least, this moment was the start of something - a long overdue examination of our racist structures and systems which benefit a few and harm many, particularly those who have been fighting against these structures and systems for generations.
The meaning of this piece, in this context, for me, became Understanding. So much is hidden within these brushstrokes. In a sense, it's a time capsule of the historical moment in which it was made.
There are hidden images within the work, which I didn't intend... I’ll leave them as mysterious, open for discovery, without making them explicit.
In a sense, this painting took on a flavour of White Suprematism going down the drain. When I allude to an ending in the title, this is the ending I’m referring to.
Imagine a world where this standard of European 'Whiteness' is decentralized. What a world we would live in. Imagine how much richer, truer and more whole it would be... There is room for all. Diversity is vital. Humanity, as with all forms of life, requires variation! That's how the great family works. Distinction and Uniqueness coming together to make up a celebrated family… This should go without saying, it's written in our Hearts.
Burst of Blessings, Ghana, Africa, 2020, oil on canvas, 40 x 60”
This painting is dedicated to the continent of Africa.
Being the second largest continent in the world, with the second highest population, and the longest river worldwide - the Nile, which spans 6600km from Sudan to the Mediterranean sea - Africa is immense and holds a presence of sheer power. The diversity in languages, cultures, climates and environments is so vast that it was difficult to feel a vision which approached the entire continent - but what felt right was a massive swelling wave at midday, and the meaning which emerged in the process was Power.
This painted shoreline in particular is set on the coast of Ghana, in West Africa. The process of learning led me to find that Ghana is on the front line of harnessing tidal energy for hydropower, giving electricity to thousands of residents through new green energy projects involving hydraulic technology embedded into turbulent, powerful wave-filled sea beds. I learned that Ghana currently uses various forms of renewable energy production, and wave power is just one of them.
This was painted, as was the former piece, during the surge of global reckoning regarding the legacy of colonialism and rippling effects of systemic racism worldwide, following the loss of George Floyd, an African-American Man, Father and Leader in his community. I intended to convey the sheer power and might of Africa, as it feels that this is a time of taking power back from where it has been wrongfully taken.
Africa, from my understanding and limited experience visiting the continent, has an energy and vitality which I had never experienced anywhere else. Johannesburg, in particular, has such a vital thriving pulse and colliding variety of cultures, languages, art forms, foods, ways of living and pace of life, that I felt a special ‘Aliveness’ when I was there. It is hard to put into words, but it impacted me with a sense of radical urgency for truly living in the present moment. I tried to convey this Aliveness in the painting.
Thank you to my friends who told me a little bit about Africa, particularly the Ghanaian coast, cultures and languages!
Love Shimmer, USA, Americas / Turtle Island, 2020, oil on canvas, 30 x 40”
This piece represents the Americas, known traditionally and still known to many as Turtle Island. This painting was the first one that I created in the series, and was very meaningful to create, as I reflected on God's Love for each continent and people while painting the water gently greeting the land. I imagined the waves bringing blessings, hope and healing. When the wave pulls back, shimmers on the beach are revealed to represent Wisdom which is available to all of us.
Mysteriously, a heart appeared in the sand where the light hits the beach most brightly - and I didn’t intentionally create this heart. This left me amazed and in awe, as it felt as though it was an amazing and blessed way start to the new series, which was originally inspired by a message that I received through a prayer at Sunrise!
I had the opportunity to stand at this very spot, when visiting my beloved Aunt and Cousin in Florida, USA, and I took this photograph as I watched the sparkles of the Sun dancing on the water and on the shells in the wet sand. The aliveness and vitality of the moving light mesmerized me and filled me with awe and wonder. It left me feeling that there is Wisdom to find in moments like this - in fact, in all moments. This moment taught me that life has so much Beauty and Love, that at times, it is overwhelming to try to take it all in!
The notion of ‘Wisdom’ also brings me to reflect on the Wisdom of the First Peoples of this continent, which is so often unknown and unheard within the dominant culture, yet so necessary as we navigate how to live in a good, healthy, and connected way with one another on this planet. If only we can step aside just a little bit and share space for the voices of the people who are the original stewards of this continent, on which I am so thankful to live, we will have so much to learn and so far to go.
As the great human family, we need to hear all voices from all people, in order to understand the full picture of how to live and how to relate to one another. Anything less than this leads us to an incomplete picture. I believe that we are all born with unique gifts and viewpoints, and it takes all voices being expressed and heard for the gifts to truly shine in order to complete the whole.
Thank you to my friends who constantly teach me things here in North America / Turtle Island!
Sunset Poetry, Perth, Australia, Oceania, 2020, oil on canvas, 36 x 48”
This painting is dedicated to the continent of Oceania. In particular, I chose to paint Australia, on the West Coast overlooking the Indian Ocean in Perth. My Father took this photograph, as he stood in awe of the glory of the smouldering sunset which was casting sparkles across the ocean towards him as he stood on the glowing red rocks. This moment moved him so much that he went home and wrote a poem about it! Hence why I named it Sunset Poetry.
I have personally been privileged to live in Australia for various portions of my life while growing up. My parents, Sister and I spent some chapters living in Brisbane, Australia and feeling, seeing, smelling and hearing the various wonders of Australia as we would drive to various places between work and school. This continent is so very vast, beautiful, lush, diverse, and breathtaking.
The people are so kind, funny, and have become loyal friends. Like North America / Turtle Island, the continent has reckoning to do in terms of how the First Peoples are and have been treated. This is a fact that I am saddened to write and I mourn the moments I may have benefited from the unjust systems which provide for the privileged and ignore the underprivileged, while visiting and living in Australia. There is so much Wisdom to present itself when we respect one another and listen to one another’s points of views. I hope that, just as on the continent that I call home, the Original Peoples in the countries of Oceania will be increasingly respected, valued and listened to as we navigate life here on this beautiful planet.
A meaning which emerged for me, while painting this, is Faith over Fear. The Sun’s rays, smouldering into the evening Sky, seem to be pushing back the darkness with strength and might, unwilling to go out quietly. To me, this represents the strength of Love which has the ability to drive out all darkness. If we shine our Love brightly, and fiercely, in everything that we do, we are incredibly powerful. This Love connects us all, and it will always be the most powerful force in eternity. It truly is, as the Beatles said, all we need.
Thank you to the many beautiful friends who I have been fortunate to cherish in Australia!
Moon Gems, Antarctica, 2020, oil on canvas, 30 x 36”
This is the final piece in the Global Ocean series: Antarctica. This otherworldly land was a gift to learn about, as this place that I’ve never visited holds a sense of mystery and inspires awe.
Summer is arriving now in Antarctica, and so far, it remains the only continent on the planet untouched by Covid-19! As Summer approaches, many countries are holding back on sending their Scientists to this land in order to retain its purity from the current pandemic. Generally speaking, few people are allowed in and out of this majsetic continent.
Temperatures get frigid there to say the least – the coldest temperature recorded in Antarctica is -89.6C as recorded at Vostok station in July of 1983, according to the Journal of Geophysical Research. Whew. Parka needed! Today, though, the South Pole is one of the fastest warming places in the world. Air temperatures have risen as fast as 3 times the global average since the mid 1990’s. Water is seen to be running on the ice in Summer months, and about 87% of the glaciers on the West Coast have retreated due to climate change, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Until recently, Antarctica was only accessible to explorers and researchers, but the tourism industry has grown in recent years as Arctic cruises become more popular and accessible to people around the world.
Aside from transient researchers, explorers and scientists, life on Antarctica remains reserved for penguins, whales, seals, albatrosses, other seabirds and krill. Most of these beings are seasonal visitors as well, due to the chilly temps! Commercial fishing puts the local ocean habitat under some pressure. Let’s keep Antarctica’s wildlife and sea creatures in our thoughts and prayers!
The glittering ice, clear moonlit waters and pristine mountains captivate my mind as I imagine what it’s like to be on this shimmering piece of land on Planet Earth. It was a beautiful journey in painting this land!
It left me with a sense of awe and wonder, and most of all, a feeling of gentle Humility. The environment on this continent seems so fragile yet strong, and doesn’t need human beings to live there in order for it to continue to thrive and shine in its glory. Its calm beauty is humbling to those who experience it, even if just through photographs. For this painting, I collected a variety of photographs taken by researchers, and mixed them together by creating a drawing which brought them into a scene that made sense in my mind’s eye. This image, therefore, is somewhat mythical, and my limited experience of Antarctica is humbling.
I do know, though, that this shimmering continent needs to be treated with the utmost care as we increasingly start to visit it as tourists. The purity of the salty water, the ice and creatures needs to be cared for and protected.
Thank you to the researchers who venture to Antarctica to live in isolation and learn more about our planet, so that we can enjoy the knowledge of their findings. May this knowledge give us a sense of wonder and humility, so that we are inspired to treat our planet and each other with more care and reverence.