One of my favorite artists is a muralist who does what I call “painting from observation”. This artist, who goes by MuralJoe, observes the patterns, textures, and colours and he applies all he learns to his paintings. He is one of my biggest inspirations. I wanted to test myself and do something similar.

 I’ve always been fascinated by ships and dancing, so I thought I would try to create a scene that incorporates these things with a lot of fun and movement. I also started this painting right when my move to Africa was postponed and the world went into lockdown. I wanted to show the importance and joy of being around other people and a glimpse into what we miss when we aren’t.

I painted “A Fellow Ship at Sea” using very few reference photos. I used my knowledge of how things work and look to create this painting and I learned a great deal about drawing from memory. I now feel less dependent on photos which has helped me to loosen up and experiment without limitation.

I ended up bringing this painting with me to Africa and finishing it there. It is a comfort to know that even in the midst of huge changes in your life, you can just pick up your paint brush and lose yourself in your artwork. You can paint people dancing and laughing and it will inevitably shift your own mood to be like theirs!