One of the most difficult things to achieve in painting is to paint people and objects underwater. The distortion caused by water and the play of refracted and reflected light, interspersed with dark shades, is certainly difficult to portray accurately on canvas.
However, here’s an artist by the name of Abi Whitlock, who’s totally at home painting water and things underwater. In fact, this award-winning, contemporary acrylic artist is a little fixated on the water by her own admission!
Whitlock focuses on humans, animals, and natural forms for rendering her hyper-realistic style of acrylic painting. It’s certainly astounding to see her capture the intricate details and mind-blowing color variations of underwater figures in such a life-like fashion. So accurate are her underwater depictions, that her paintings can easily pass as photographs.
Whitlock was always fascinated by water as she has spent her life on the Devon coast. Water in all its myriad forms served as inspiration for her to paint it in such minute and intricate details. She says on rhodescontemporaryart.com, “My inspiration comes from my recent move to coastal Devon, trips to the beach and outdoor pools. I try to capture the way entering the water enables the swimmer to enter an altered state of mind; a form of escapism from the real world.” So, realistic are her paintings that the viewers feel that they are themselves submerged along with the swimmer.
Whitlock’s collection of paintings can be seen on her Instagram page. Her works have been displayed in many exhibitions. She’s open to commissions and custom orders.
Abi Whitlock Art