I recently bought this print from a local artist Mr Lindsay. He paints scenes from our local coastline usually Tynemouth and Cullercoates. Visiting his shop you can watch him paint or just admire his work hanging there. I often think how I would like to buy one of the big originals, but never would spend the money, such is my lack of art collecting.
Mr Lindsay is talented and friendly so chatting to him I said I liked this print because it reminded me of people. Being polite he said “everyone sees something different in art”. “Why people he asked me””?” (again being polite). I said because all the boats are different, some little, some big, some new, some old. Some well maintained, others rather worn and well used. But all of them are stranded on the same shore, all of them are waiting for the same thing – the tide to come in and give them the ability to do what they need to do – sail in the Ocean.
Everyone of them has the ability to get to where they need to be, as craftsmen have built them. They have their own journey mapped out and just because they need to sail alone doesn’t mean they are actually alone. They are stranded at this very moment but when the Ocean reaches them, they will sail again and maybe get close to each other, they might be so close that they wave and say “Bon Voyage may the winds be with you” ( or whatever sailors would say to each other). I could see Mr Lindsay think I was not his typical art collector and at £8.50 for the print not going to be his best customer either. But he left me with my own insight on the print and hoped his next customer will at least pay for his tea.
I did buy the print because of the people resemblance, as it reminds me that although we are all different we still share the same Ocean (life). As scary, as unpredictable as it is, it offers so much potential. It looks like it will never end but even the Ocean stops at the shore, and little or big boats, pretty yachts or sturdy fishing boats get old and tired and need to retire. But while we are in the Ocean we can sail together, feel the freedom and knowledge that when the tide goes out and we are left feeling alone we are never really alone, just look across the beach, and there will be others, just waiting for the Ocean to come back and pick us up and take us to where we are meant to sail. For now I just need to figure out where to hang my not so original piece of art……
wherethehellisgillian 