The sea, oh the sea...

The sea, oh the sea…

Oil paint on canvas

Size: 60 x 60 x 4 cm

Framed: 81 x 81 x 4 cm

Having grown up in Dublin, Ireland, with all its beautiful beaches, I have a deep love for the sea. As a child, I spent many happy days at the seaside, either on family outings or as part of a ragtag caravan of neighbours.

On Thursday evenings, the local fishing boats came into Howth Harbour with their catch, and my mother and the other women would buy fresh fish for Friday’s dinner. As good Catholics, Friday was ‘fish day’, whether from the boats or the chippy up the road.

Of course, in addition to those balmy, sunburn and calamine lotion-filled days, there were others when the sea was enraged and sent its waves crashing over the harbour walls. What immense, unbelievable power? Power that existed long before we humans and which will do so long after we’re gone.

“The sea, oh the sea…” is my small attempt to capture a hint of that increadible power and to imagine the courage it takes to be out in one of those small fishingboats, at night, in a storm.