2019-05-01 The Artists Magazine

(Martin Jones) #1
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
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