Alice O'Shea

I have loved art for as long as I can remember.

I was born in 1993 in Cambridge, UK. It was very natural for me from an early age to pick up a pencil and sketch for hours. Art fast became my happy place and occupied much of my time. Every birthday and Christmas I was gifted new art supplies and I experimented with every medium, style and subject. I never ran out of ideas.

Naturally It was my favourite subject throughout my school years, and I went on to study Fine Art at the Cambridge School of Art within Anglia Ruskin University, graduating in 2015. It was in 2016 that I began working at sea and traveling the world onboard cruise ships. 

I very quickly fell in love with the ocean and started painting life though a porthole from my cabin. I was mesmerized by everything about my surroundings, the fluidity, the endless horizon, the jewel tones; the sense of being truly isolated with nothing but water in sight, and equally fascinated by the changes of weather that I experienced and witnessed whilst on board including the full elements of a storm at sea. One of my favourite memories is staring at the water over the railings on promenade deck, absolutely mesmerising!

Through my painting I was able to create a perfect marriage of my two passions.

It is my aim to create a nostalgic feeling and transport the viewer to another time and place with the foundation of all works being ‘escape’ & ‘sanctuary’; to allow the viewer to escape their everyday lives, lose themselves and find sanctuary within the artwork.

My works are always tied to the natural world and my surroundings. I’m Inspired by the oceans I’ve travelled, the places I have visited and the wildlife I have been lucky enough to witness wild and free. Many works celebrate the natural phenomena of the ocean; the movement of water, the stunning sunsets and my own experiences. I am passionate about raising awareness for oceanlife and protecting the habitat in which they live.

My works provide us with the opportunity to escape the chaos of day to day life and appreciate the wonder of the natural world.