Waves, a large gold abstract acrylic painting by Ritu Raj (acrylic on canvas, 6 × 6 ft)

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Ephemeral Atmosphere · 2023

Waves

6 × 6 ft · Acrylic on canvas · 2023

Available · in the studio, Phoenix

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The wave as the painting's whole logic — atmospheric surface holding the motion the ocean practices endlessly without ever repeating.

Waves (2023) is a rhythm made visible — a painting that doesn’t depict water, but channels its motion, memory, and emotional undercurrents. Created in acrylic on wood, this 72 x 72 inch work from the Ephemeral Atmosphere Collection is both a pulse and a poem.

Brushstrokes rise and fall across the surface in loose, undulating arcs — some soft and foamy, others jagged and urgent. The palette glows with sea-toned blues, hints of aqua, and flashes of sun-warmed coral. Between the gestures, negative space sways gently, creating an effect of movement even in stillness.

I painted Waves while reflecting on how we move through change — how emotions roll through us like tides. It’s not about water. It’s about repetition and surrender. Each mark is a moment. Each line, a breath.

The piece resonates with the meditative fluidity of Yayoi Kusama, particularly her infinite nets and organic repetitions. Like Kusama, I see pattern not as design but as devotion — a way to process the endless push and pull of being alive.

Waves doesn’t crash. It flows. It carries. It reminds us that we are always riding something — an emotion, a thought, a phase. Sometimes gently. Sometimes not.

As part of the Ephemeral Atmosphere Collection, this painting celebrates rhythm not as structure, but as experience. A wave doesn’t explain. It moves. And Waves lets you move with it.

Where to see it. In person at RituStudio, Phoenix, by appointment. Represented by Jarrow & Goodman, Los Angeles.

The space it needs

Wall
At least 8 ft wide
Ceiling
9 ft or more
Light
Natural light transforms this work — morning and evening light read differently
Daylight
Indigo and sea blue hold steady; the warm gold and citron catch fire under late western sun. Contrast is strong enough for a spot near glass, but a west wall will push the crests brighter than they were painted.

Lives best in

Living room 5/5

Waves earns a 5 here because its six-foot sweep of indigo and warm gold becomes the room's emotional anchor, and natural morning light pulls the bone white passages forward while evening deepens the near-black into something almost architectural.

Bedroom 4/5

The score of 4 holds because the low mood rating and near-black ground create genuine stillness, but the 45-pound canvas on a wall requiring 8-plus feet means most residential bedrooms cannot physically accommodate the work without it dominating rather than settling the space.

Details

Size
6 × 6 ft (W × H)
Medium
Acrylic on canvas
Year
2023
Collection
Ephemeral Atmosphere
Palette
Indigo · Faded Ink · Near-Black · Sea Blue · Warm Gold · Bone White · Pale Gold · Citron · Gold
Weight
About 45 lb
Ready
In the studio; delivery 6–10 weeks

Its ArtGram

ArtGram.Trillium

  • Texture2
  • Form3
  • Colour range2
  • Palette3.3
  • Contrast4.7
  • Abstraction Quotient3
Read the full reading on ArtGraph →

Keywords

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