"SANCTUM" 

This 12' by 5' monster is a creation from the depths of the ocean and the depths of my imagination. From the moment I could swim, until age 20, I spent my time slipping through the water, gliding with the currents, and feeling more comfortable in the water than I ever did on my feet.

On land, I was a very average runner, but in the water I was king. We dived for oysters and other shellfish with knives on our hips and I worked as a lifeguard with a brotherhood and sisterhood of friends. We fished, surfed, and collected seaweed. We took care of our beaches as they took care of us.

Admittedly, the Atlantic Ocean off the southern Irish coast, where I am from looks very different to the tropical ocean of "Sanctum", yet the feeling and emotions evoked in the piece are very much the same. The feeling of an expansive, Neptunian world, vast, and awe-inspiring are very much the same.

Painting this piece allowed me to return to this world and the beautiful memories I made being a creature of the ocean.