Mandy Lake is currently exhibiting at The Cape Gallery – the show is titled Sheer Water.
“I have always been drawn to the sea and my paintings aim to capture its endless motion and changing moods: A series of close-up encounters in which the viewer becomes immersed and loses sight of the shore.
This exhibition explores my growing fascination with the translucent qualities of the ocean – and traces my journey to capture this fleeting play of light on water from two perspectives:
- Firstly, looking down from above: the ocean remains elusive. It’s surface stirred by wind, tide and current. At times it is clear and transparent allowing the light to dive beneath the surface and illuminate hidden treasures. At others it is moody and translucent as the light slows and thickens casting shadows in the deep.
- Secondly, looking out to sea: at sunrise and sunset the light skims low across the water, reflecting off surfaces with greater density, as waves break against the shore scattering a kaleidoscope of colour.
This exhibition also traces a shift in the way I work with oils. Initially I started with a background wash building up the darks before adding detail and light. Then I began to experiment with transparent oils, building up layer upon layer and reserving the opaques for the whites of the waves. Now I am acutely aware of the light from the moment I start to plot the composition, and in the final few works there is no background wash and I have allowed the white of the canvas to show through.”
“It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know the sense of wonder and humility.” Rachel Carson
