60. On the Rocks

Artwork number: 60
Artist: Laura Griffith
Medium: Oil on canvas
Description: What I'm searching for, it's not reality. It's an escape from reality. Which is difficult when you're a realist painter. But the opposite of reality isn't total abstraction. It's a different version of reality. Slightly tweaked. More interesting, more intriguing. That's what I'm aiming to present the viewer with in my painting. The figures in the landscape reveal a narrative and make us all reflect on how we experience the landscapes we find ourselves in. Sitting on the rocks are my husband and daughter. She doesn't want to be there, head down in a sour mood. My husband looks out west watching the surfers and the waves. Beer in hand, we came here for the serenity. We came because we wanted to escape home life, and connect with the natural world.
Artist statement: Laura Griffith is a contemporary realist painter of landscapes and portraits, with a recent focus on work depicting the figure in the landscape.