Thalassophobia - Painting

Thalassophobia (acrylic on 36"X36" stretched linen)

Artist, Illustrator: John Potter - Escape Key Graphics

This painting is part of an ongoing series that explores the use of custom linear halftones as a central formal strategy.

The imagery is informed by my experiences traveling to the Bahamas for client work, as well as by deep-water diving. While the initial concept focused primarily on sharks, the composition gradually shifted toward conveying the sensation of vast, immeasurable depth—an experience familiar to divers when descending from a boat toward a deep wreck. This psychological and spatial awareness ultimately informed the title Thalassophobia, referencing the fear of deep, open water.

The working method for this piece differs from much of the series. The drawing and compositional design were developed almost entirely in a digital environment. Precision of alignment was essential to the visual effect, and working digitally allowed for a level of accuracy that would have been difficult to achieve through purely analog means.

In its visual language, this work aligns more closely with Op Art than most of my previous paintings. The concept is deliberately straightforward but evolved organically through experimentation across related works. The piece carries a distinctly contemporary gallery presence and benefits from being viewed with ample physical distance, allowing its optical and spatial effects to fully register.