Joe Webster – Once in a Lifetime, Storm Eunice
£2,450
Artist: Joe Webster
Back to Artist’s page
Unframed Size: 80cm x 95cm
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
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Joe Webster about ‘Once in a Lifetime, Storm Eunice’
“Once in a Lifetime, Storm Eunice’ was painted en plein air, on arguably the most exposed coastline at the very peak of the 120mph winds of Storm Eunice. Reading the news afterwards this storm was described as a once in a lifetime event and the strongest British storm in my lifetime. I felt privileged to be in the situation to capture it on canvas.
The experience was equally exhilarating, challenging and “nail-biting”. One of my blank canvases was whipped out of my arms and I nearly lost much of my kit over the cliff. I had to work swiftly with a skeleton kit, being very methodical. As I painted, the raw canvas was held to the cliff edge with multiple tent pegs; these held (enabling me to create the piece) for about twenty minutes before all the pegs ripped through the canvas upon which I dived to save it from blowing away. (The tear holes can be seen around the edges; which I love as part of the piece’s history.)
It was difficult to breathe and debris was constantly stinging my face. To approach the cliff edge I had to lean into the wind and run and to retreat I lowered my centre of gravity and chose moments in between gusts to scale back up to the summit. The minimalist feel of the piece, created swiftly and spontaneously, I feel captures the bright, airy elemental situation and the sheer force of the wind on the watery paint literally itself created the textures across the canvas.
I seek to paint and thrive in challenging situations like this where my mark-making becomes wholly internal and instinctive, where there is no room for error or pontification. It makes me feel invigorated, alive and reminds me that I am a very small part of a much larger beautiful, dynamic world.
Watch Joe painting this memorable element here.
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