Before The Splash, Acrylics on Canvas, 24"x24"

Before the Splash

Acrylic on canvas 2026
24 × 24 in.

Artel Gallery – Fabulous Forgeries (2026)

Before the Splash was included in Artel Gallery’s juried Fabulous Forgeries exhibition and was awarded Best of Show.

Opening reception: February 19, 2026. On exhibit through March 27, 2026.

A brief reflection on how this painting came to be can be found here.

On view in SUSPENDED
Award Alcove, Artel Gallery
Pensacola, Florida

SOLD

This painting began in conversation with a work by David Hockney.

David Hockney’s A Bigger Splash, 1967

Hockney’s A Bigger Splash captures the moment just after impact. The diver is gone. Only the eruption of water remains.

I was drawn to the instant just before.

In this version, the body is still visible. Gravity is certain. The splash has not yet arrived. The tension sits in the air between action and consequence.

The composition is simplified and structured through intersecting planes. Geometry holds the energy in place. The moment lingers longer than it could in real time.

Suspension here is not about motion. It is about awareness. The breath before something changes.