If you have ever felt the need to escape in nostalgic memories of summer, childhood and tranquility, then you have but to take a look at Samantha French‘s current collection of works below.
French’s oil-paintings are portrayals of people underwater, strongly inspired by her childhood in Minnesota. The Brooklyn-based artist claims that through her series of portraits she aims to bring forth the feelings of stillness and peace connected with water and nature that she, herself, experienced in her summers as a child, swimming in the lakes of her birthplace.
These paintings do not only attempt to reach out to the viewer, but are, in essence, a refuge for the artist herself. “I am drawn to an idealistic time before my own, where swim caps and wool swimsuits were commonplace. This combination of memory, observation and photography has allowed me to preserve the transitory qualities of water and remembrance”, she states.
Holly Williams for Art-Sheep
