“On a starlit night in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, completely still, at the helm of the ship, the stars above and reflected in the water, it feels like you’re floating in space.” Artist Joanne Parent recounts one celestial and inspiring night. One of many memories that she keeps in her treasure trove.
Growing up along the coast of Maine, Parent started sailing with her mother and father when she was 8 years old, and was smitten, “I fell in love with the ocean at a very young age.” Parent’s love for the sea and all its wonder only grew with time. Upon turning 21 years of age, she embarked on a career path that was only natural, yachting.
Gratitude, oil, 24 x 48”
From starting out as part of a crew, moving quickly to deckhand, and eventually to the glory and grave responsibility of becoming a captain, Parent has seen and experienced more of the sea and sky than most people will in their entire lives. She has risen with the sun off the island of Tahiti. She has been at the helm of the ship at 2 o’clock in the morning when everyone else was asleep, no wind, no rain, only the dark fathoms below and the night sky above, presuming she was alone, only to catch her breath as she feels and hears the sound of a whale coming up alongside the vessel. “I’ve had moments that inspired me to the point where I would cry,” she says.
It’s these pure and precious moments that inform Parent’s artwork and inspire her seascapes. “My painting style is extremely intuitive,” she explains. Her technical process aligns seamlessly with her style as she does not paint from pictures, nor does she sketch out her ideas before taking the first stroke. Instead, she starts with a blank canvas, often closing her eyes. She approaches each piece with an openness, completely at peace with not knowing what the painting will turn out to be in the end.
Working with oils, she paints in thick layers, and the final layer is always the thickest. The painting evolves from her imagination from her memory, recalling a particular morning or afternoon, feeling the wind and the colors surrounding her. Something might start out in her mind as a marsh and turn into a sunset. She moves with her feelings; following the energy and flow is paramount in Parent’s technical process.
Essence, oil, 48 x 36”
“I want to evoke the feeling that I had in that moment and get that feeling across to the viewer,” she says. At the heart of her approach is the reality that she never knows what’s going to happen with a painting. “They just create themselves.”
As a finishing touch to her work, Parent applies a final translucent layer over the top layer of paint thus illuminating the sky or the waves, bringing those elements to life to their absolute fullest. One of Parent’s paintings can take anywhere from two weeks to a month. “It depends on the flow, the energy of it,” she says.
Synergy, oil, 36 x 36”
While Parent’s treasure trove is rife with priceless jewels, it also contains memories of rough waters and raging tempests. Days of seasickness and hunger. One of her favorite stories was sailing for the first time through the Caribbean aboard a 45-foot classic wooden yacht as a member of the crew in a race called the Caribbean 1500, which began in Newport Rhode Island and ended in Antigua.
The ship had set sail on the fourth of November without a hitch, gliding over the water mile after mile with ease and great speed. Upon entering the Gulf Stream they picked up a signal on the Ham Radio with a warning, “Don’t go into the Gulf Stream!” But it was too late and before long they found themselves in the thick of a big nor’easter.
Moon Tide, oil, 30 x 30”
The crew and the captain spent two full days trying to keep the ship from turtling or breaching the hull. Monstrous waves came crashing over the boat one after another, and at one point they were all up in the cockpit with life jackets on. When the second day had passed and the storm had calmed, the ship was still afloat. “Food and dishes were everywhere. We were exhausted, but we all had an amazing feeling, that moment in your life when you’re so happy to be alive!” Parent recalls. The bowsprit had been broken and they could have the lost rig entirely, but the gods of the sea had shown mercy.
As the bowsprit needed repair, as well as other parts of the boat, they anchored in Bermuda and spent about a month fixing the boat and gathering their strength before setting sail again. In the end, they made it to Antigua and finished the race.
Enchanted, oil, 36 x 36”
“It was just beautiful! We let the anchor down and all jumped off the boat,” she says. Swimming in the water and soaking in the splendor, Parent and the rest of the band knew they all had a story to tell. They had met with the eye of the storm and not faltered.
She now owns an art gallery with her father, photographer Neil Parent, in the quaint little town of Belfast, Maine. Together they opened Parent Fine Art in 2001, and Joanne and Neil have seen visitors from around the world, as well as locally, come to view their one-of-a-kind paintings and photographs—paintings and photographs that calm the spirit or rouse the soul. Glistening waves, light piercing out of the clouds, a vessel in the night sailing through the mist—the work that hangs on the walls just inside the doors of the little shop at 92nd Main Street will leave an impression, if not leaving you full of wonder.
Balance, oil, 40 x 30”
Despite being on land and feeling settled for a few years now, Parent’s adventures are far from over. Her trove of treasures is not completely full nor will it ever be, it seems. Gold doubloons, silver, sparkling rubies are all just waiting to be discovered. Parent will always be in love with the wonder and the beauty of the wild ocean waters. She admits freely, “I am constantly called to the sea, all the time.” —
See more from the artist at joanneparentart.com.
Melanie Cope is a writer who has explored many parts of the world, from Prague and Cambodia to London and Hungary, gathering stories, kisses, flowers and friends, trekking across Bratislava, and swimming in the waters off the coast of Mexico. Her work has been published in The Wells Street Journal and The Vanguard. Currently she is on the hunt for an agent to represent her debut novel. She can be contacted at melotwothree@gmail.com.