Spirit Of The Sea

Voyagers, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf

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From a life of constant motion, the objects chosen for the painting, Voyagers rest, echoing their past. Along with shells that refused to stay submerged, floats mark a rhythmic line of placement through the vertical composition.

Glass objects frolic with the light, sometimes halting and pushing it backwards, sometimes allowing it to penetrate, making it transparent. The floats’ etched surfaces add another texture to the composition and one more layer to the story.

Light, movement, and the forces that animate are what compel me to paint. Each picture is a quest, ultimately revealing the mechanics of an enigmatic realm of experience, the result of certain combinations of sensory input, reason and active imagination.

The floats and shells in Voyagers, having lived upon and within the movement of waves, convey to me the spirit of the sea. Breathing color and reflected light enlivens the arrangement. Voyagers suggests an eagerness to tell us a story.

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Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

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Voyagers

I came to Gloucester to paint for a summer twenty years ago. Joyfully, I heard the Siren’s song, and remained. There is so much here for aesthetic pleasure, I am spellbound by what Thomas Moore calls the “genius loci.”

The objects in Voyagers—shells, floats, castaway bottle—are treasures that one finds exhaled by the sea. Glimmering and crusty seashells, vehicles of mysterious creatures living under water, dazzle me. And the patina of glass, etched by the ocean’s kneading over time!

Such marvels become objects of contemplation. In my mind’s eye they are heroes aboard the Argo while Jason hunts Golden Fleece, or survivors of the Hesperus, sunk by the reef off Norman's Woe. I wonder where these alluring voyagers come from and can only imagine their journey.

Voyagers, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf
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