“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” – T.S. Elliot.
Craig Mooney has been exploring. Not in a sailboat. Not out on the sea. He has been exploring in his studio in Stowe, Vermont, and he has invited us to join him.
“Ironically, I’m not a seafarer. My knowledge is from reading and skirting the coastline,” says Mooney. As a kid, he lived on a dead end street in Manhattan that overlooked the East River. He watched huge freighters and barges pass by en route to some unknown location, with the help of tugboats in many cases. “My father took me to the piers on the west side, and we visited the huge ocean liners,” says Mooney. On a good day, he and his father were allowed to step on board. Sometimes it was only for an hour as passengers readied to disembark. “It was exciting to me, even if I wasn’t really a passenger. It stirred something in me.”
In part and in pieces these memories resurface in Trade Winds. Daydreams of what it is like out at sea and wishes of travels that may one day come. Craig Mooney is proof you don’t have to experience the open ocean first-hand to find that connection and fall in love.
“I didn’t want to create a cloyingly sweet vignette of a romantic sailing voyage, but in some cases, ironically, it is where I ended up,” says Mooney. On a deeper level, he connects with the quote above he shares from T.S. Elliot and arrives back at the beginning with new eyes. “When I started this series based around Trade Winds, I was unsure what my motivation was. I do know it was a journey for me. The immense power of the sea, the endless heavens above and the lone vessel carried me along.”
Commanding a room, this six foot by six foot piece has a life of its own. It fills a space with a blend of the luminescent light of the sun and the deep blue shadows of the ocean. It pulls the viewer in yet still leaves enough space to enjoy one’s own personal journey.
As beautiful as the images are on the website, this piece is worth a visit to Kennebunk. Trade Winds was Craig Mooney’s Artist’s Choice for the Choice Art Show and will be on display at Maine Art Shows at 10 Chase Hill in Kennebunk until June 30th. Please stop in any day from 11am – 5pm. The Choice Art Show is also available to view online by clicking here; Choice Art Show.
If you are interested in reading more about Craig Mooney and his work at Maine Art Paintings and Sculpture on our blog, click here. You can also visit his Artist Page at www.maine-art.com to view our entire collection of Mooney work.
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