Color, rhythm and unrestrained expression are boundless in Ali Cockburn’s abstract paintings. Working in primarily acrylic on canvas because of the medium’s dexterity, Cockburn’s application of paint ebbs and flows like the oceans that inspire her. The artist explains: “An ex-national swimmer and now an avid Stand Up Paddle (SUP) Boarder, I take a lot of inspiration from the ocean, its moods, the various life forms within it and the freedom and joy one experiences when in or near it.”
In works such as Ocean Floor, estuaries of sea foam, green, white and blue paint writhe and dance around each other, eventually gathering in white, alkaline clusters reminiscent of ocean spray that bubble and flail to the edges of the canvas. In Fire Falcon, luminous shades of bright yellow, orange, crimson and ash gray melt, fold and finally coalesce towards the center of the composition in a lava-like rhythm. Cockburn’s works are at once highly emotive and redolent of the natural world. The artist currently resides in Ballito on the East Coast of South Africa.
