Transcending swim practice
I was not on a swim team as a kid, but joined a masters team later in life. The word “masters” is a little misleading; our group consists of middle-aged people getting a workout, usually not as strenuous as the high-schoolers’ workout next to us. My coaches are extremely patient as I ask a lot of questions about strokes and very slowly am getting over my fear of the flip turn. In the last couple of years, I participated in a few competitions, and felt uplifted for days afterward, surprising myself by winning a few ribbons.
We had a 6-month break due to COVID-19 but now are back to swimming next to the fast high school swimmers. I admire their focus—getting up for 6 a.m. practice—and their confidence in movement, something I don’t recall much from my teen years. Last year, I attended a couple of high school swim meets in Atlanta and in Austin, where my niece and nephew swim. I loved the coming together of fun, skill and effort.
For this series, I started and restarted several paintings. At first I was documenting swim meets and didn’t think I was getting the spirit of swimming. Finally I let loose with quick colorful studies:
Originally a study, I took this painting a little further, still keeping the colors and shapes abstract:
And scaled up a study to a large size (30 x 40):
I also found myself getting lost in the turquoise and blue waters of backstrokers and freestylers. Capturing the movement of the water was as much fun as the painting the swimmer:
I started this series with the idea of swim practice and how it brings people together. Of course swimming offers many themes: freedom, calmness, meditation, power. Bonnie Tsui writes in her wonderful book "Why We Swim," that the physical repetition of swimming "can be a kind of meditation that transcends the simple goal of winning a race." That's the feeling, along with the camaraderie and togetherness of a team that I hope to convey.
This new collection consists of 9 medium-to-large colorful paintings in oil, with small 8 x10 paintings coming soon.
