North Norfolk Farmhouse

I am sorry that there have been no updates to this site for a long time; regrettably, I have been rather unwell for the last year, with an unusual form of pneumonia that has lingered for an awful long time. However, it would seem that maybe I have finally got rid of the infection with my 7th course of antibiotics - on top of two stays in hospital! So, normal service may be resumed soon.
Above is the rough for a commissioned painting of a farm near Holt, North Norfolk, which is about the only watercolour I have managed in the last 12 months...

Sagafjord

A small painting of the Sagafjord in her original Norwegian America Line colours; in the background, the older Bergensfjord. This was painted for an Australian client. 28 x 36cm. This may be my last ship painting for some time...! Other projects beckon...

Clyde Shipbuilding

Two more big and complex commissions for a former Clyde shipyard engineer. The first shows two ships on trials off the Isle of Arran; they are British India Line's Bamora, passing Britain Shipping Co's Willesden, two fine examples of 1970s Glasgow shipbuilding on the Clyde. The second shows Shaw Savill Line's Britannic, being towed by Flying Dipper, passing Ben Line's Benstac in the background, tied up at the Barclay Curle shipyard. To the left of this yard is Connell's yard.

Each painting measures 76cm wide x 45cm high.

Classic Liner "Willem Ruys"

No update to the site recently, because I have been very busy working on a commission from an Australian client. The first of the 2 paintings is this one of the classic Dutch liner WILLEM RUYS, seen at sea passing another Dutch vessel, the ORANJE.

WILLEM RUYS had a very long career, being built for Royal Rotterdam Lloyd in 1947, and almost making it to the 21st century as the cruise ship ACHILLE LAURO.

The ORANJE started life for Nederland Lines in 1939, and was used on the Dutch East Indies run. She too was acquired by the Naples Achille Lauro company, and was transformed into a very sleek looking ANGELINA LAURO. She had a severe fire in 1979, and sank in that year on her way to the breakers.

The painting measures 56cm x 76cm

The second picture in this commission is of another classic liner, this time the Italian GUGLIELMO MARCONI, a beautiful vessel built for Lloyd Triestino in 1963 for the Italy-Australia run. This picture measures 28cm x 38cm.

Wells Next-The-Sea

3 small paintings of WELLS NEXT-THE-SEA, all 14cm x 19cm:

THE

QUAY LOOKING WEST

DOG WALKER AT THE WHELK SHEDS

THE CHANNEL & THE BIG DUNE

Having done a large set of these small paintings, I'm probably going to go much bigger again now! One or two commissions to do first though.

Cromer, North Norfolk

CROMER AT SUNSET
Small watercolour just 14 x 19cm
The sea-front at Cromer is fabulous: lovely Georgian and Victorian architecture overlooking the pier, with its lifeboat-house and launching ramp at the end, the whole dominated by the imposing bulk of the beautiful church; a wide sandy beach scattered with very large flints; the activity of the many small fishing boats being launched and recovered from the beach by antique tractors.

Big Ben and Tower Bridge

Three tiny watercolours of familiar London river views; all are just 14 x 19cm, and will be on show with the Tunisian boat paintings (seen lower down the page) at the Picturecraft Gallery, Holt, Norfolk, from Friday 21st May.

Tunisia - March 2010

Watercolours of small fishing boats at Sousse, Tunisia, seen during our recent trip there. There were quite a number of such small craft in the fishing harbour, many sporting a colourful stripy cloth to protect the wooden hatch covers from the sun. All were built of wood, and clearly quite old and battered; not a glass-fibre boat in sight!
The 3 smaller images are just 14 x 19cm, the larger one below is 28 x 36cm.

Brancaster Staithe

FISHING BOATS AT BRANCASTER STAITHE NEW QUAYSIDE

Watercolour 56 x 76cm

THE WHITE MUSSEL BOAT AND THE GRADER

Watercolour 38 x 56cm

ABANDONED BOAT, BRANCASTER STAITHE

Watercolour, 38 x 52cm

The limited production book published to commemorate 20 years as a professional artist. A handsome, coffee-table sized 28 x 33cm (11" x 13"), and 160 pages, the book shows all my work from the last four years, up to October 2009.

SUNDOWN AT OVERY STAITHE

Watercolour 56 x 76cm, 2010

For further information, contact Picturecraft Gallery Ltd

WELLS QUAY FROM EAST END

Watercolour 56 x 76cm, 2009

Crabbers and Musselers

I have been fascinated by boats of all sizes for many years. A couple of years ago, it struck me forcibly that the wooden fishing boats along the Norfolk coast were fast disappearing; this led me to start seeking them out, and producing a series of paintings of them, before they disappear forever. Boats are not my only interest however, as can be seen by scrolling down.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Watercolour 56 x 76cm, 2010 - Sold

THE OLD MUSSEL-BOAT, BRANCASTER STAITHE

Watercolour, 38 x 56cm, 2006 - sold

( The same boat as below, seen in its glorious location )

FLAT-BOTTOMED CLINKER MUSSEL-BOAT

Watercolour 56 x 38cm, 2009 - sold

BRANCASTER STAITHE NEW QUAY

Watercolour 56 x 76cm, 2009 - sold

Painted on location, despite a strong gusty wind and other hazards, such as a hungry dog trying to eat my packed lunch!

This is one of the best places along this coast to find wooden boats; there is an unofficial 'boat graveyard' behind the sheds, on the marsh, where lie some craft in an unbelievable state of decay...

UNLOADED

Watercolour 38 x 56cm, 2009

THE WHITE BOAT UNDER THE FIRS, BRANCASTER STAITHE

Watercolour 38 x 56cm, 2009

NOSE TO NOSE IN THE BOAT GRAVEYARD

Watercolour 28 x 38cm, 2009

EARLY MORNING, ALDEBURGH

Watercolour 38 x 56cm, 2008 - sold

SUNDOWN AT MORSTON CREEK

Watercolour 28 X 38cm, 2009

CROMER BEACH REFLECTIONS

Watercolour 56 x 76cm, 2010

CLEY NEXT-THE-SEA FROM THE SOUTH-WEST

Watercolour 38 x 56cm 2009

CHANGE OF DIRECTION

Watercolour 56 X 76cm, 2008

The title was an oblique reference to the figure at top right; I imagined him leaving the hardship of a fisherman's life to follow another way of life. My first attraction to this subject was the purity of the sinuous shape of the dory, silhouetted against the shingle bank at Weybourne beach.

BURNHAM OVERY STAITHE BEACH

Mixed media painted on location, 23rd June 2008. 56 x 76cm

I later added a cormorant, flying in from top right, (which I saw on the day), but the photograph of the painting was taken before this addition!

My main interests, subject-matterwise, over the last few years, have been beach scenes, boats, and architectural subjects. Here are a couple of architectural pictures:

KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

Watercolour 56 x 76cm, 2008

COLMAN'S WORKS, CARROW, NORWICH

Charcoal Drawing 38 x 56cm, 2008

Blakeney Point and North Norfolk Beaches, 2007-2008

THE WATCHHOUSE, BLAKENEY POINT

Watercolour 56 x 76cm, 2007 - Sold

I spent some time on Blakeney point in 2007, painting on location, then producing larger pictures back in the studio. This and the picture below are two of the studio paintings of this iconic building.

WATCHHOUSE CREEK 1

Watercolour 38 x 56cm, 2007 - Sold

RED BANK, BURNHAM OVERY STAITHE BEACH

Watercolour 56 x 76cm, 2008

SALTHOUSE BEACH IN THE MIST, 23rd MAY 2008

Location study, watercolour 28 x 38cm

My heart sank when I reached the coast and saw the mist, but on looking closer, I found it really interesting; everything was very subtle: the pale colours, the patches of wind-ruffled water, the way the sea merged into the sky, and the odd seal coming up to look at the people on the beach!

PANORAMA FROM SALTHOUSE HEATH, MAY 2008

Double-page spread from sketchbook, 28 x 75cm

Painted over three days; it was so cold, with a northerly breeze, that I couldn't stand more than 2-3 hours on the spot at one time.

THE NORFOLK COAST PATH, MORSTON MARSHES, JUNE 2008

Mixed media 56 x 76cm

A lovely warm day for a change!

Corfu and Southern Spain

The following 4 pictures were painted on location during holidays in Corfu and in southern Spain. I always seem to have to look at the local fishing boats wherever I go! (I painted one in Corfu as well...)

AGHIOS STEFANOS BEACH, CORFU, MORNING

28 X 38cm, 2008

OLIVE GROVE, CORFU

28 x 38cm, 2008

CORFU HILL FARM, PEROULADES

50 X 38cm, 2008

SMALL FISHING BOAT ON THE BEACH, NERJA, SPAIN
28 X 38cm, 2004

SEA LAVENDER ON THORNHAM MARSH

Watercolour 38 x 56cm - sold

WINTER SUN

Watercolour 38 x 56cm - sold

FALLING TIDE, CROMER

Watercolour 56 x 76cm - sold

THE STUMPS, THORNHAM
Watercolour, 56 x 76cm - sold