Since moving from London in 1993, I’ve rented a studio looking onto the sea and it has become the subject matter of my work. This has enabled me to combine my love of swimming with my artwork. I use photographs taken with an underwater camera as reference points for my paintings. This reflects my desire to immerse myself in my subject. I also use the view from my studio window as a starting point for the paintings, which describe the changing forces of weather systems through the seasons. Using washes and layers of oil paint to create textures and veiled effects they represent the memory of the elemental conflict between sea and sky.

©2008 Nick Snelling