Bio

Candace Ceslow is an oil painter who has always been fascinated and inspired by nature, especially the water. She grew up on the eastern end of Long Island and spent her time on the beaches playing in the waves and being mesmerized by the ocean. Her ocean and seascape paintings are mostly inspired by her local surroundings and play with the contrasting emotions that the water can evoke.

Ceslow’s work has been exhibited in galleries across Long Island, New York City, and California, as well as various cities in the United States. She has received awards and special merits for her oil paintings. Ceslow graduated from Adelphi University in 2012 with a Bachelors in Fine Art. She is currently residing and working in Montauk, NY.

Artist Statement

Growing up on the eastern end of Long Island, the ocean has played a major role in my personal and artistic development. It is a place of continued rejuvenation, wonderment, and beauty, but also a place of deep unknowns and, at times, tumultuous surf.

I started painting the ocean because I wanted to explore contradicting emotions that emerged from the water. The rhythm of the waves can be calming and meditative. Listening to the water crash and flow, getting lost in the ripples of the ocean, the stresses of daily life go out with the tide. The serene water scenes I paint often do not depict land. You are alone, drifting in the boundless ocean, lost at sea. The strength of the wind and water can be menacing. The waves are ready to be worshipped. They are deities ready to crash and pull you under as sacrifice.

Like the ups and downs of the ocean, my work explores the dynamic between the beauty and defenseless-ness that the water can evoke. Are you at peace floating in the water or are you vulnerable to the vastness of the blues and greens?

www.candaceceslow.com