"Liminal Light"
An extremely rare East Coast aurora borealis silhouettes the National Harbor of Refuge Outer Breakwater Lighthouse and the distant ship, Star Gilbraltar, departing the Delaware Bay at Cape Henlopen
'Liminal Light'
18" x 24" x 5/8" oil on canvas, sold
by Ellen Rice
18" x 24" x 5/8" oil on canvas, sold
by Ellen Rice
"Liminal Light" was inspired by a moment in time, August 12, 2024, witnessed by a local river pilot standing on shore in Lewes, Delaware, the awe he felt and imagination.
My client is a man of many talents and vast interests, astrophotography among them. Two months after this moment I was able to witness the northern lights for myself, after he told me there was a likelihood they would appear that night.
Seeing and photographing these ever-changing lights helped me when I was given the challenge of painting the light he'd seen in August.
His August photographs were my primary reference, but the lighthouse and ship were a combination of his memories and our imagination. Neither his ship coming in from Delaware Bay nor the lighthouse were in his photograph. His ship, the Star Gibraltar, was already in port and the outer breakwater was out of view from his standpoint. So with his assistance, I imagined them silhuoetted against the lights.
I spent countless hours searching for photographs of the lighthouse at night and he provided me daytime closeups, along with photos of the ship. The trick was then getting the sky to glow the way his photograph did while being true to the shifting shapes he'd captured.
I’m trying to think of words that capture what I was feeling when I saw it.
LL is a Celtic, mystical concept of a boundary or transitional space between realms.
Liminality, a concept associated with transitions, thresholds and in-between spaces, holds significan importance in many cultures worldwide. In Celtic culture, it takes on an even more mystical form through the idea of 'thin places' - locations where the boundary between the Earthly realm and the
8/12/24
My client is a man of many talents and vast interests, astrophotography among them. Two months after this moment I was able to witness the northern lights for myself, after he told me there was a likelihood they would appear that night.
Seeing and photographing these ever-changing lights helped me when I was given the challenge of painting the light he'd seen in August.
His August photographs were my primary reference, but the lighthouse and ship were a combination of his memories and our imagination. Neither his ship coming in from Delaware Bay nor the lighthouse were in his photograph. His ship, the Star Gibraltar, was already in port and the outer breakwater was out of view from his standpoint. So with his assistance, I imagined them silhuoetted against the lights.
I spent countless hours searching for photographs of the lighthouse at night and he provided me daytime closeups, along with photos of the ship. The trick was then getting the sky to glow the way his photograph did while being true to the shifting shapes he'd captured.
I’m trying to think of words that capture what I was feeling when I saw it.
LL is a Celtic, mystical concept of a boundary or transitional space between realms.
Liminality, a concept associated with transitions, thresholds and in-between spaces, holds significan importance in many cultures worldwide. In Celtic culture, it takes on an even more mystical form through the idea of 'thin places' - locations where the boundary between the Earthly realm and the
8/12/24
Prints available:
20 s/n and embossed archival giclee prints on paper
5 s/n archival giclees on Fredrix canvas
5 s/n archival Artists Proofs on paper
There is an additional white margin on all paper reproductions.
Custom sizes are available by calling
the studio at (302) 539-3405.
20 s/n and embossed archival giclee prints on paper
5 s/n archival giclees on Fredrix canvas
5 s/n archival Artists Proofs on paper
There is an additional white margin on all paper reproductions.
Custom sizes are available by calling
the studio at (302) 539-3405.
