Ocean Art

Artist, ocean lover, and longtime coastal resident Sug. O’Shen actually paints with the ocean. She was inspired after seeing people who’d never been to the beach before going home with only a T-shirt or car decal as a memory. So she thought to herself, Wouldn’t it be amazing if they could take the ocean home?
Soon she was adding seawater to her medium: alcohol ink, a fluid and unpredictable ink that, to her, shares many of the ocean’s characteristics. And that’s when the magic happened. Soon, friends and world travelers began collecting water during their adventures so she could create one-of-a-kind artworks commemorating their experiences.

Today she creates custom artworks for people all over the world with water they send her from meaningful places in their lives. In fact, she recently completed a 10-piece commission for a destination wedding in Antigua. The newlyweds sent water from the beach at their wedding location and requested 10 original artworks to gift to their wedding party.
“My desire is to create truly deep and transformative experiences through my artwork. The stories that people share with me when they send water for a commission are so special,” she says. “The art becomes an intimate part of them because they are physically contributing to their piece.”
O’Shen’s exhibit during Miami Art Week earlier this winter featured 22 new global ocean-themed works. These pieces include water from Antigua; Capri, Italy; Southampton, New York; Barbados; Bali; and Nazaré, Portugal. She also partnered with The Everglades Foundation, which commissioned 30 original pieces created with water from 16 different Everglades locales to help highlight the importance of restoring and preserving this great national park.

for more information, visit sug-oshen.com