Art can speak to your soul, but most divers have a special place in their heart for marine art. We’ve gathered together six of our favorite marine artists and some of their most inspiring artwork. These pieces are available for view and/or for sale from artists across the United States as well as from Canada and Australia. We hope you’ll be just as inspired as we were after viewing each piece.
Hand-carved and Torched Sculptures
Chad Hogston, the artist from Cape Fear Torch, is a freediver from North Carolina who creates custom pieces, hand-carved and torched on select woods. These realistic-looking works of art are truly unique, with the natural woodgrain adding something extra to each piece as you can see in the video above. To view his other pieces or order a custom work, check him out on Facebook or Instagram.
Ethereal Photography
Produced by Glen Cowans Photography, The Ocean on Your Wall showcases divers’ dreams. In addition to seascapes, this specialized line of underwater photography also includes artistic macro views of marine life, such as the piece above entitled Gorgonia, taken on a dive in Rowley Shoals, Western Australia or Cells from Rottnest Island, Western Australia. While limited edition stretcher framed pieces on canvas are available, less-expensive mounted prints are also an option.
Paintings and Archival Fine Art Prints
Based in Vancouver, Canada, Dimitri Sirenko creates beautiful oil and acrylic paintings as well as archival fine art prints. He not only has rave reviews on his Etsy shop, but he was also the 2018 National Champion of the competitive live painting event called Art Battle. The artist offers a wide variety of seascapes like his Content oil painting above and marine-animal portraits among other pieces. Sirenko’s pieces are available for sale via his Etsy shop.
Stained-glass Sculptures and Lamps
Oregon-based artist Mason Parker has worked in stained glass as well as fused glass since 1990. His five-foot-wide Octopus Chandelier shown above is a showstopper, while his jellyfish and squid lamps are delightful. Mason uses vibrantly colored stained glass to mimic the glory of nature. To purchase a piece, visit his web site.
Awesome Art from a Cave Diver
Michael Angelo Gagliardi, from Art Flows Like Water, is a cave diver and explorer whose art touches those on land and underwater. He creates powerful pieces such as the one above, entitled The Shonan Maru and the Sea (alt title: Better Living through Factory Farming), as well as vistas familiar to other cave divers. Gagliardi has also performed underwater restorations to a vandalized cave, a multiple layer/color clay bank, and a smashed whale bone vertebra 100 feet down and 2,200 feet into the cave system. For prices and availability, contact him through his web site.
Art to Save the Sea
As Washed Ashore notes, they “create art to save the sea, building and exhibiting aesthetically powerful art to educate a global audience about plastic pollution in the ocean to spark positive changes in consumer habits.” With sculptures up to 9 feet tall and 6 to 15 feet long, these massive exhibits are equally stunning and horrifying as you realize they’re made entirely of plastic pollution fished from the Pacific Ocean. Used as a primary source of gathering attention, their traveling exhibit can be found across the United States and Canada at aquariums, zoos, public gardens, museums, and universities. To see the exhibit in person or host an exhibit, check out the Washed Ashore web site.
