Volcanic Beach

Nathalie Lendermann

Recycled acrylic house paint on reused canvas

36"x 24"x 1.5"

2021

$580

Painting fluid oceanscapes helps me to connect with nature and people in the Bay Area after having moved here from Berlin in the middle of a pandemic. Going out to the ocean to surf and play with my husband and two young boys almost every weekend has helped us to accept and enjoy our new home in this socially distant time. I draw my inspiration for most of my abstract landscapes from the always changing appearance of sea, waves, tides, light and sky. "Volcanic Beach" is a large abstract seascape created only with reclaimed/recycled materials - a preloved canvas and leftover house paint gifted to me by generous neighbors through our local "Buy Nothing" group. By reusing materials, I try to minimize the impact of my artwork on the environment by creating something beautiful with other people's trash. The virtual and real-life connections to our new neighbors made through the Buy Nothing-project created a feeling of community even during times that closer contacts were on hold at the peak of the pandemic. These moments of light in rough times are represented by the warm speckles on the rough surface of the sea in my artwork.