Atlantic Beach, Vero Beach Fla

About Atlantic Beach, Vero Beach Fla

This contemporary realistic painting of the Atlantic Ocean was created by James Lahey.

Canadian artist James Lahey has acquired an international reputation for his distinctively beautiful paintings of both landscapes and still lifes. His artwork has been profoundly influenced by both European masters such as Rembrandt and Caravaggio, and the work of his own artist mother. It was his mother who first gave him a paintbox of oils at age 12 and encouraged him to paint ‘en plein air.’
This large-scale oil painting of the mighty Atlantic Ocean is mesmerizing and so realistic that it looks like a photograph. Lahey often takes photographs to record significant detail, colour and form interpreted in his artwork. He is masterful at capturing the cool turquoise blue colour of the ocean and the sunlight as it plays off the waves as they roll in towards the beach. The image is built up with many layers—a characteristic of Lahey’s work and fine brushstrokes and drippings add to the realism. Looking out towards the defining line of the horizon, the cloud-filled sky is rendered in a soft palette of white and rosy pink.

“My representational work is primarily of things elemental and temporal – landscapes, oceans, clouds, flora and the implicit motion within these. I’m interested in these as a way to know the world and phenomenal experience; that is, to know what is often referred to as fleeting experience.” James Lahey

“James Lahey must often dream about painting. Whenever I talk with him, it’s clear that the subject is never far from his thoughts and the scope and depth of his practice. A probing experimentation and polish is evident in everything he does.” Dennis Reid, Chief Curator, Research, Art Gallery of Ontario

James Lahey completed his BFA at York University (Toronto) in 1984 with studies in Art and Architecture in Italy through a joint program with York University and Lowell University in Massachusetts. Lahey went on to hold positions at The Art Gallery at Harbourfront, The Power Plant, The Art Gallery of Ontario, and Bruce Mau Design. Since 1998, he has concentrated exclusively on his own art practice. In 2001, Lahey was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy. James Lahey's work can be found in numerous private and public collections across Canada, in Britain and the U.S.