A pure joy to paint, Lueurs océanes (ocean lights) came to me quickly in very few layers.

The first layer carries a lot of orange, sienna, terracotta and red, a bit like a rock bed at the bottom of the sea. I let my love of the ocean take over and literally immersed myself in the painting, going deeper than in #18, also pursuing the light without noticing.

I experimented with new colors and contrasts in the top layer, using my fingers, a silicone wide-toothed comb and chopsticks to give some texture to the surface of the painting, wave-like and edgy under the touch, moving around fluid paint in Prussian blue, pale green and lavender.

Those contrasts brought back wonderful memories of the Pacific Ocean that I experienced flying over French Polynesia and scuba-diving in the beautiful archipelago of Rangiroa back in April 2007.

I’ve always been fascinated by the sunlight shining through water: lighting up the various depths of the ocean as revealed from a plane; or beaming through the waves and millions of gallons of liquid as experienced underwater.

While standing in front of the canvas, I remembered finding on the beach of Rangiroa many washed up corals, some of them pure white from days of bleaching in the sun, some of them still vividly red. In homage to them, I brought these memories back on the painting and included some splashes of red and coral-like shapes with a fine brush.

What brought me to throw white fluid paint in swift moves over the waves? The souvenir of a dolphin that I caught on camera jumping high above the water in the pass at Rangiroa? The incredible flying Exocet fish that I came across sailing with my brother Jean-Christophe outside Port-Gentil in Gabon? Playful rays of light? Or pure flowing energy…? I let you decide, dear reader.

Ocean Lights.

Lueurs Océanes.

**** In February 2016, a lovely couple fell in love with this painting that I had exhibited at the Theater an der Marschnerstrasse in Hamburg. I am proud to say that it’s the first painting that someone expressed interest in buying without knowing me, reaching out with the question whether it was for sale… I realised that I was ready to let it go at the time. Now I keep it in my heart along with all the beautiful memories that I poured into it. ***