2019-05-01 The Artists Magazine

ArtistsNetwork.com 63

Beach

Bound

The sand and sea are a strong draw for artist Teil Duncan,

but she’s inspired more by the signs of life they attract.

by Stefanie Laufersweiler

The Beach Babes
paintings give Duncan
the chance to display
personality, pattern,
warmth and spunk in a fun
way. “I want Beach Tote
[acrylic on birchwood
panel, 30x20] to
transport beach lovers
to their place of warm
recreation,” she says.

A

n overly crowded beach might be the bane of your average

vacationer, but it’s a creative playground for artist Teil Duncan.

The figures she finds there are an essential part of the beach

paintings for which she’s best known.

Of her acrylic series Beaches, Duncan says, “After I painted the

works, I discovered specifically why I was drawn to the subject. It was

because the beach is an entire field of figure studies! It was the perfect way to explore a

new avenue of painting figures lounging in beautiful light with colorful patterns.”

BUSY BODIES

Duncan’s beaches don’t show pristine stretches of sand; instead, they’re teeming with

sunbathers weaving among a sea of bright umbrellas, as in Rosemary Blooms (page 66).

The land is visible only in patches, in bits of backdrop peeking between a sun worshipper

turning over; a surfer passing by; a couple in mid-conversation; a father and son heading

for the waves. Each of Duncan’s shoreline scenes was designed for the insatiable people-

watcher and requires a few return visits to catch all the action that the eye might not

notice initially.

The human figure has been a frequent focus of Duncan’s work. “That doesn’t mean

my figure drawings have always looked good,” says the artist, who studied drawing and

painting at Auburn University and received her bachelor’s degree in 2010. “It wasn’t until

I started drawing almost every day that they started to improve.” After graduation,

Duncan moved to Charleston, S.C., where she continued to hone her craft. She now lives