Alistair Swatridge Artists Statement

“I started painting because I wanted to reproduce scenes that were in my head, scenes to replicate my fondest memories and scenes that helped give light in the darkness of a depressed mind. Every picture, whether painted from a photograph or from sketches by visiting the beautiful locations, bring me back, to the sensations I have always associated with the sea.  Having wanted to go to sea from an early age, the sea has dominated my entire life, with over 30 years as a naval officer, to retiring to live aboard my boat exploring the inland canals and rivers of the UK and now Ireland.

 The pictures I paint take me back to being part again of those magical times by the sounds of the waves and the smell of sea air. In 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 with every brush stroke. That feeling of being part of the painting, part of the surroundings, is there every time and makes every painting become a part of me. 

I stated painting to help overcome some very dark periods of my life. I am completely self taught and work in acrylics as I feel they give me body and feeling to my art.

It was therefore this emotion and calming influence of being drawn back to the sea, that I believe got me painting today. 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 long for, respect and love."