Surf

More Information

This work was the first to enter the collection of the Akron Art Museum. Elliot Torrey’s painting evokes the sound of waves crashing against ocean rocks. Known for his seascapes, the artist selected varying shades of green, grey, and brown to add a moody tone to this scene, as if a storm is just starting to brew. Torrey grew up in Vermont and Maine, spent a portion of his career in Boston and lived for 26 years on the California coast. He was thus never far from the ocean and was certainly no stranger to the impetuous nature of the sea. Torrey’s expressive brushwork is characteristic of his Impressionist style, through which he explored how light, time, and movement affect visual perception of objects. By isolating the waves and interweaving thick brushstrokes, Torrey highlights the patterns formed by water moving over ocean rocks.

Keywords

Impressionism
Painting
Seascape
Rocks
American
American
Ocean