Spirit of the sea, 2022

Peter Goodhall  

Artist Statement:

Marine painting has been a life long obsession for me and with so many variations the possibilities continue to be endless. For 25 years I had the benefit of a studio on a Devon cliff top - such an idyllic location for a marine artist.

I have painted in oils using purely traditional methods and also developed completely contemporary styles. The visual study of water has fascinated me for years and today my oil paintings, often on a large scale that create striking centre pieces, concentrate on observing the quite sensual forms and patterns that fleetingly appear, often as a result of the play of light or movement in the water. The additional theme of painting the nude in water was first explored by me in the 1970s and has recently been returned to and this has led to a number of international awards. Offering opportunities with the nude as a theme to create a combination of more distorted shapes, rhythms, reflections and movement in a painting.

Living and working so near the sea has enabled me to be completely focused on painting water. I also seem to have spent most of my life in and around boats so it has been a natural desire to also paint boats.

The water theme continues as I also keep koi carp and find that as a subject with their range of colour variations I can vary my colour palette considerably. I'm also aware of just how significantly important koi are in so many cultures. I remember first seeing koi when I was a child and how magnificent their patterns and colours were.

Education:

BA hons. Fine Art

Awards & Distinctions:

American Art Awards 2015 - 'Masterpiece' & best female nude.
SAA Artist of the Year 2011

Exhibitions:

Various Society & Academy open exhibitions in UK
Mystic Maritime Museum Gallery USA
most recent solo show 'See The Sea' 2018

Artistic Influences:

The whole movement of photo-realism has had a significant influence on my own work and the intense observation together with the technical skill has guided me towards where I am now. Although I do feel that I have stepped a little way from the true definition of photo-realism today and would categorize my own contemporary painting style as having a strong degree of realism. Although ironically in isolation many of the shapes that appear in my paintings are quite abstract.