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Creating Collective Memory

Inspiration Through Artwork

The vast, beautiful ocean is a common source of inspiration for works of art. The reflections of sunsets, crashing waves, and bubbling foam on the water's surface act as a basis for art in all types of media, painting, oil pastels, watercolors, colored pencils, and so much more. Artists often use the ocean as their source of inspiration due to its depth and charm. These works are inspired by the ocean and act as inspiration for others. The endless colors in the depictions of immense beauty bring the viewers to reflect. The calming effects of both artwork and the ocean come together, entrancing their viewers, and allowing them to enter a state of awe and inspiration. The works of art chosen below are representative of two different themes: the ocean as a beautiful seascape and the ocean as a dangerous and unforgiving being. Ranging from different interpretations of waves, coastlines, skies, and underwater these artworks symbolize how different perspectives can change the meaning of a universal subject, the ocean.  

A large tsunami wave, located on the left, towers over 3 long boats with civilians who have been caught in the stormy ocean. In the background amongst the waves, a small scale of the snow capped Mount Fuji stands. The sky is yellow with puffy blotchy white clouds. The wave details are defined in shades of dark blues witht he sea foam in white and light blue. The boats are tan and light brown. Civilians within the boats are wearing blue tunics and have lighter colored skin. The artist's signature is visible in the upper left-hand corner.

The Great Wave of Kanagawa

This acrylic painting by Nazar Tuvok shows the varying blue hues of the sky blending into the blues of the ocean with long sweeping brush strokes. Faint hints of a near sun's pinkish and purple-ish beams can be seen reflecting upon the clouds and ocean waves. In the left corner of the painting there appears to be a sandy beach.

The Sky is Visiting the Sea

This acrylic painting by Sartika Mohomad appears to show the waves from an underwater view looking upwards in an abstract sense. Navy, blue, and whites are marbled together to mimic the movement of the ocean's water.

Underwater

This dreamlike acrylic painting by Olga Astri depicts the beach in a fantastical pastel setting. Puffy, billowing white clouds with hues of purple, blue, pink, and yellow roll across the upper portion of the canvas. A pinkish sunset is hidden behind the clouds, yet its reflection can be seen reflected upon the wet sand. Aqua, glittering waves reflect the pink and oranges of the sunset while also pooling upon the beach. A singular seagull like bird appears to fly in the upper left corner of the painting. There appears to be the boulders positioned in the far background of the painting towards the right. Two figures stand on the right side of the beach near the water admiring the sunset. Multiple figures are scattered throughout the ocean as well.

Sea of Dreams

Water color painting by Phil Foster depicts a dry rocky coastline with large boulders. The water appears relatively calmer with few ripples as it crashes upon the rocks. The water is reflective of the blue sky with partial clouds. A majority of the ocean is painted with various shades of blue, with darker greens embedded along the boulders.

Coast of Maine

In this almost entirely blue painting there is an ocean with a really big wave starting to fold over, with white foam at the top of the wave.

Sea Breeze

Oil painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir that shows a cloudy sunset over a calm ocean with a tiny boat centered in the middle of the canvas. The short, quick brushstrokes create movement that mimics the flow of the water.

Sunset

Using many lines and pastel colors this painting depicts a coast with grass and a walking path in front with one tree. Behind it is water and another strip of land reaching most of the way through the painting. The ground is mountainous and has rocks. The water is a blue-green and the sky is light blue with white clouds.

View at Guernsey

Oil painting by Nikolina Kovalenko created in joint with the Coral Reef Alliance to capture the beauty of our planet's vibrant coral reefs and the dire need to protect them. Blue, red, and yellowish corals center the canvas. The ocean in the background is created using wavy, distinct strokes of blues and teals.

Utopian Reefscapes

Acrylic painting by Lada Kholosho that depicts a pink sunset over a calm ocean. Teal and aqua strokes compose the bottom third of this painting.

Beautiful Seascape

Grassy cliffs sloping down to a rocky coastline take up left side of the canvas and gradually approach the foreground. The ocean meets the rocky coastline in shades of green, turquoise, and blues with periwinkle highlights. As the oceans crashes against the rocks, white sea foam separates the land from the water.

Les Falaises De Gréville

Rugged, rocky cliffs jut through the ocean and connect to a jagged cliffside that spans the left of the canvas. These cliffs are primarily various shades of warm browns and blacks to portray the crevices and peaks of each spiky rock. The ocean appears in combined splotches of dark greens, light greens, yellows, purples, whites, and blues. This helps mimic the movement of ocean waves near a rocky coastline. The ocean spans the bottom 5/6 of the canvas. The remaining 1/6 portion of the canvas at the top is painted a mute warm yellow to represent a sunset. Contrasting against the sky are blueish-purpleish clouds.

The Rocks of Belle-Ile

Van Gogh wrote that the painting " ‘has a colour like mackerel, in other words, changing – you don’t always know if it’s green or purple – you don’t always know if it’s blue – because a second later, its changing reflection has taken on a pink or grey hue’. The bright red signature has been placed prominently in the foreground: it was intended as a ‘red note in the green’."

Seascape near Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

Three sail boats with white sails slightly offset from the center to the right on the canvas. Green mountain range in the background on the lefthand side of the canvas fading into a sandy coastline. There is a pier jutting out of the sandy beach. Behind the pier are many docked sail boats. The ocean us a sea green color fading into a deeper turquoise as it nears the background of the canvas. The sky is light blue with fluffy white clouds. The corners of the canvas have yellowed from time.

Coast Scene with Sailing Boats

Oil painting on canvas by Bennett Bradbury created to portray and evoke the strength of our oceans and the innate beauty which they possess. Rugged, grassy cliffs are met by a rough ocean. The water crashes against the boulders and sprays mist into the air. The sky is blue with a network of purple clouds graced by pinkish hues of a nearby sunset.

Coast of Granite Creek