The Music of the Waves

We build on the shoulders of those who have opened our eyes to the possibilities.

Philip Larkin wrote,

 “The wave falters and drowns.

 The coulter of joy breaks.

 The harrow of death deepens. 

 And there are thrown up waves.

 And the waves sing because they are    moving. 

 And the waves sing about a cemetery of waters.” 

From a distance the sound of the sea is a continuous roar. But taking the idea of waves singing, I started to think about the waves coming in to land on the seashore.

 “And the wave sings because it is    moving”. 

So, what happens when it stops moving? What we hear are chords and individual notes as wave energy dissipates through shifting sand, tossing stones and the sound of millions of bubbles cracking open, releasing clean energy that could be harnessed for good.

So, I’ve etched into the oil paint, staves to contain the notes at the edge of the waves and liberated bubbles are cut deep into the wooden panel. Between the waves, the calm ripples reflect many strange shapes. I’ve used these in my series of linocut prints of the same name 1-10.

Just a thought:

The continuous roar of the sea is a similar sound in quality and quantity as the sound generated by a busy road. 

How we respond to that same sound, with  stress or pleasure, depends on the context:

tyres on tarmacadam, engines pounding, exhausts emitting harmful particles into the air we breathe,

or,

millions of bubbles cracking open releasing clean energy that could, that should be harnessed for good.