SeascapesByAlistair
An acrylic visual artist specialising in seascapes, and living afloat on Ireland /Northern Ireland border.
About SeascapesByAlistair
Based in Derrylin, Ireland. member for 7 Years
Alistair Swatridge was born in 1959, in Dorset England. At 6 years old, he had already set his dream of going to sea and as soon as he was able, his dreams became reality. He spent over 30 years in a Naval career that took him around the world and finally attain Command of his own ship.
Unfortunately in his early career a certain horrific and traumatic event left him mentally scared, it was left untreated in order to fulfil his dream of getting command, but it would resurface again later and would finally blight his much loved career.
At only 46, he was forced to medically retire much earlier than he had ever contemplated or planned. Following a very brief introduction to local politics, he decided life ashore was not for him and he and his wife moved afloat once more to continuously cruise the rivers and canals of the United Kingdom in his Narrowboat.
After more than 5 years of cruising the British network, his health was still an issue so he and his wife moved their boat to the quieter and more sedate surroundings of the Shannon and Erne Waterways in Ireland. They have totally fallen in love with the people, and it’s beautiful landscape and it’s less crowded, more sedate lifestyle and quiet surroundings that Ireland has to offer. They are still cruisng the waterways now in a larger barge and have made their home on the water based on the border with Northern Ireland, using this as a base to explore more of the beautiful island and its wonderful coastline.
Having started painting after he retired, he is self taught, and experimented with watercolours before moving to Acrylics. It was only recently in 2017, that the opportunity has existed for him to be able to take his painting more seriously and by moving ashore in the winter months, having more room to expand and develop a personal style with his Acrylic paints that reflect his often dark state.
“I started painting because I wanted to reproduce scenes that were in my head, scenes of my fondest memories. Every picture, whether it’s made from a photograph or by visiting the beautiful locations, bring me back, to the sensations I have associated with the sea. The pictures I paint take me back to being part again of those sounds of the waves and the smell of sea air, its power, and it’s many faces; from the peace and tranquility of becalmed waters to the utter fear you experience in ferocious waves and hurricane seas.
That really is the joy I get from painting, whether it’s from a photograph I may have taken or from a sketch I may have made, the experience and sensations associated with the occasion, are totally relived every brush stroke I make as I paint my picture. That feeling of being part of the painting, part of the surroundings, is there every time and it makes each painting become a part of me.
It was therefore this feeling of being drawn back to the sea, that I believe got me painting. A call of the sea, that I was missing. A desire to “reproduce my life’s comfort blanket” to be again part of the sea I love.
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