Waves Spilling Over Rocks

ClassificationsPaintings-watercolors

Artist Phil Dike (American, 1906 - 1990)

Date1976

Made AtCalifornia, United States, North America

Place DepictedCalifornia, United States, North America

MediumWatercolor on paper

DimensionsApproximately: 17 1/8 × 23 1/4 in. (43.5 × 59.1 cm)
Framed: 25 5/16 × 31 3/8 × 1 1/4 in. (64.3 × 79.7 × 3.2 cm)

Credit LineAnn and Bill Cullen Memorial Collection

Object number2018.6.6

DescriptionPhil Dike was born in Southern California and studied art at the Chouinard Art Institute. Like other California Scene artists, Phil Dike’s paintings tended toward a modern style following World War II when he began to integrate geometric abstraction and, uniquely, elements of calligraphy into his work.

Some of his common features in his era of abstract watercolor art included harbors, driftwood, figures on the beach and dramatic rock formations the last of which can be found in his painting "Waves Spilling Over Rocks." As his work became more abstract, Dike continued to explore the subject of the ocean, its characteristics, and the relationship humans had to the ocean. It was also during this time that Dike started to communicate his feelings with subtle bands of color. The colors in the background of this painting suggest that it is sunset during a cloudy Californian day, while the style suggests it was painted in the second half of Dike’s career.

Two-thirds of this painting is dominated by a mass of thick brown shades. Only the white and soft blue lines trickling down this expanse reveal it to be rocks overcome by waves. While many California watercolors are bright, this one stands out for its strong temperament and character.

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