As you may remember from last summer, I have a soft spot for pool and water paintings when it's hot outside. Something about looking at images of people escaping the heat just makes me feel cooler inside--plus it takes a TON of talent to paint water so realistically--so today, I wanted to share another wonderful artist who paints summery images of people enjoying the water (especially  since it's supposed to get up to around 100 degrees in DC this week!). But first, if you weren't a reader yet last summer, I must give a shout-out to the amazing Laura Sanders, whose work I shared last June, and Danny Keith, whose work I shared last July. Both also paint images of people in water, although they have very different styles. Check them out if you haven't already, and then prepare yourself to be amazed by this week's featured artist, Eric Zener.  

Zener is an extremely talented painter (and mixed media artist) who does these fabulous series of people in water, people sleeping (which I also LOVE), and people balancing on things (diving boards, tightropes, etc.). To me, his paintings have a very quiet, intimate feeling to them, even though they're very colorful, large, and often contain a splash or a lot of movement. In each piece, he's able to still time and invite the viewer into a very personal moment that we would never be a part of otherwise. Take a look below and see if you agree with me...

Ahhh, so refreshing! Don't you just want to jump right in? Looking at these paintings makes me MUCH more eager for my trip to the beach next week (for my Bachelorette trip with my bridesmaids--yippeee!).

There's nothing more cleansing than a dip in some cool water on a hot day, wouldn't you agree? 

You can view more of Eric Zener's work on his website, here. 
So. much. talent.

Namaste!
Mary Catherine