In Celebration of the Master Painter’s Seascape by Nikki E. Salt

A seascape filled with wonder and great artistry - how can anyone doubt the existence of our creator God? Who even carves the tiny algae blade with purposeful precision.  

The Ocean - A Wondrous Paradox

As I write this post, I am sprawled on my favourite beach, sun-kissed and salty, listening to children’s shrieks of delight as they chase the breakers and throw themselves into the surf like frolicking seal pups. And though the coastline is alive with fellow beings all having tossed caution to the wind to enjoy this magnificent day, it isn’t their contagious exhilaration that grabs my attention. No, I’m struck by the brilliance of the ever changing, magnificent, untameable sea.

The Stunning Coral Reefs

I gaze upon its multitude of colour, I’m in awe of its boundless energy, I marvel at its vast endlessness that, until today, I’d never fully appreciated or celebrated. Oh, the sea has always drawn me towards it, like a cat to the fireside or a child to a lollipop. I assume the ocean runs through my veins due to the long line of French Canadian fishermen ancestors, relying on the North Atlantic for their livelihood or perhaps it is simply because my first six years of life were spent in the coastal town of Ramsgate in Kent. Whatever the reason, I know too long spent inland finds me yearning for the sea. It’s part of me: a mer-woman with human legs and marine heart. And though I spend many hours writing and rewriting stories set in the depths of the sea, I’ve not actually applauded the ocean just for being the ocean. I’ve not taken the time to lift my voice in admiration and worshipful reverence to the Master Painter, creator of the earth, seas and skies. 

For moulding and sculpting a wondrous paradox: powerful yet tranquil; glittering with emerald greens and azure blues one minute, and dirty greys and muddy browns the next; dangerous and life-threatening, yet a sparkling play pool for chuckling babies. Filled with an overabundance of amazing habitats from stunning coral reefs to seaweed forests and a plethora of creatures from sprite-like jellyfish to the perilous Wobbegong sharks that adorn the seabed like innocuous shaggy, carpets. There are monstrous underwater mountains; great abysses and gorges unexplored and filled with mystery, volatile submarine volcanoes, swirling ocean whirlpools and freshwater springs.

 

Wobbegong Shark - The Seemingly Innocuous Carpet

Thank you for Your magnificent masterpiece! A perfect setting, an incredible framework prepared especially for us writers in which we can weave and spin our stories and prose.