Immersion Therapy

 When it all gets too much, or if the weather is fine, or if I’m in the mood, I need to think, I need to feel the breeze on my face, or any number of other reasons, I go to the sea. Sometimes I just walk the strandline collecting shells, watching the waves, but sometimes I get in the water. It can be a struggle to make myself swim, particularly in the depths of winter, but I always feel better when I have been in. There’s growing evidence that cold water immersion is good for you, both physically and mentally, and open water swimming is an excellent way to get that dopamine hit without having to resort to turning down the thermostat on the shower. I love being out in the water, literally at sea level. I love the way the world looks from there, how huge the sky can feel. Being so close to nature is a wonderful thing. I also love to be out with my friends, for safety as much as for company. We’ve had some mad swims over the years: lying flat on our backs and being gently washed back to shore on strong waves, being thrown against rocks, fully submerged, watched by seals, studied at eye height by fulmars. Sometimes we snorkle, sometimes we swim. Always it’s good therapy.

With this print I wanted to try and achieve the strange and beautiful effect of being right at water level, with an above-and-below perspective. I used a gentle turquoise-blue rainbow roll on one block as well to try and mimic the way colours change in water.