I think I’ve talked before about how much I enjoy my morning ferry ride from Rockaway to Pier 11 in Manhattan. Though I am NOT a morning person, there’s something about traveling by water that makes me feel calm(er) and present and lucky. And on days when we pass the Brooklyn shipyards and the gantry cranes are loading or unloading a container ship, I am even happier. The process absolutely fascinates me, and although I know that the machinery used is massive and the containers weigh many tons, the impression from my ferry window is one of delicate, balletic precision. So when I saw the painting above, I was hooked!
Spanish painter Ana Alcaraz Montesinos has a marvelous way of communicating peace in her mostly-water-themed paintings. Even scenes full of movement like those featuring scampering bathing-suited children feel like a glimpse of a calm, happy day. I find her work incredibly soothing.
“My most sincere works come out of silence. I like to work alone to impose the most true feeling. For me, painting has to do with the deepest of oneself, with the greatest emotion.”
-Ana Alcaraz Montesinos
I wish I could see shapes and colors and scenes the way Alcaraz does. She’s just the kind of painter I would like to be. As much as I admire photo-realistic art, there’s something inclusive about more impressionist paintings. They make it easier for me to imagine myself a part of. (A terrible, awkward sentence I just can’t seem to fix…)
You can follow the wonderful Ana Alcaraz Montesinos on her website and on Instagram and Facebook. (And if you feel like geeking out on the fascinating process of loading and unloading container ships, here’s a great video to explain it all.)
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My OBT 
October 5, 2019 at 6:07 am
Nice work.
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October 5, 2019 at 9:19 am
I just love how seasidey they feel!
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October 5, 2019 at 6:36 am
I too used to use the water to travel and I know what you mean, I see it as peaceful, thoughtful and thankful too. I like the girl on the diving board, for it reminds me of Amy Liptrot as it looks cold and still and how she described sea swimming. For you have to get in the water however cold it looks and there must be a moment when you are totally alone in the thought, do I have to? and it looks like one of those moments.
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October 5, 2019 at 9:21 am
That’s a wonderful way to describe the painting! Your description brought back the memories of many, many first-of-the-season trips to the beach.
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October 5, 2019 at 11:02 am
I understand your fascination of the sea and your travel in the morning, Donna.
I like to stay at the sea too, unless the weather behave too bad.
Nice paintings, I haven’t heard about this artist before.
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October 5, 2019 at 10:03 pm
I confess that even after the hurricane, Beloved and I love the sea best when it’s stormy. It’s so dramatic and romantic!
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