COLLECTION
SPIRIT OF THE SEA
COLLECTION
SPIRIT OF THE SEA
The doors of the enchanting Corte Real Gallery are open once again, welcoming the stunning work of artist Bert Osthout. If you love the sea, you will adore his vision
Born and raised on the tiny island of Curação in the Caribbean, Bert Oosthout was brought up to be a mariner. By the age of ten he was already sailing solo and subsequently has covered many nautical miles crossing the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans.
“On a yacht there is time to observe the waves and the dynamics of the ocean,” Bert says. “Encountering every kind of weather condition including Force 12 gales.”
His merits as an artist were first inspired by very different weather conditions. Spending time on the Dutch Islands beside the Wadden Sea, he was fascinated by the flatness of the water and the unobstructed horizon. While watching the rhythm of the tide as it ebbed and flowed, he had an urge to capture and keep the gently changing reflections.
Calling himself a salt water artist he admits, “For me the painting of the tide line is almost obsessive.”
In the Algarve the tide line has many variable conditions. Beaches stretch all along the south coast from the Spanish border to Cape St Vincent, a distance of 155km. From Cape St Vincent, traveling west for a further 50 km, there are more and more unspoiled ocean beaches. It is a paradise for a salt water artist looking for tidal changes, glass-like reflections, wave wrinkled sand and distant horizons.
Bert‘s paintings include a huge mixture of moods and views all created by the coming together of sea and sand. An exhibition of his paintings – seen alongside a collection of international art works – is on display at Galeria Côrte-Real on the outskirts of Paderne.
Galeria Côrte-Real has reopened. It is signposted from Boliqueime, Ferreiras and Paderne
Open: Thursday to Sunday, 11am until 5pm
T: 912 737 762
W: corterealarte.com
Words: Carolyn Kain