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...Monday, 10 January 2011
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...
Saturday, 13 November 2010
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.
Friday, 16 July 2010
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.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Monday, 3 May 2010
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.
The 3 smaller images are just 14 x 19cm, the larger one below is 28 x 36cm.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Friday, 12 February 2010
Friday, 5 February 2010
Thursday, 4 February 2010
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 TRADEWatercolour 56 x 76cm, 2010 - Sold
THE OLD MUSSEL-BOAT, BRANCASTER STAITHEWatercolour, 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
UNLOADED
THE WHITE BOAT UNDER THE FIRS, BRANCASTER STAITHE
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...
UNLOADEDWatercolour 38 x 56cm, 2009
THE WHITE BOAT UNDER THE FIRS, BRANCASTER STAITHE Watercolour 38 x 56cm, 2009
NOSE TO NOSE IN THE BOAT GRAVEYARD
NOSE TO NOSE IN THE BOAT GRAVEYARDWatercolour 28 x 38cm, 2009
EARLY MORNING, ALDEBURGH
EARLY MORNING, ALDEBURGH Watercolour 38 x 56cm, 2008 - sold
CHANGE OF DIRECTIONWatercolour 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 BEACHMixed 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!
Blakeney Point and North Norfolk Beaches, 2007-2008
THE WATCHHOUSE, BLAKENEY POINTWatercolour 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 1Watercolour 38 x 56cm, 2007 - Sold
RED BANK, BURNHAM OVERY STAITHE BEACHWatercolour 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 2008Mixed 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, MORNING28 X 38cm, 2008
OLIVE GROVE, CORFU28 x 38cm, 2008
CORFU HILL FARM, PEROULADES
SMALL FISHING BOAT ON THE BEACH, NERJA, SPAIN
28 X 38cm, 2004
CORFU HILL FARM, PEROULADES50 X 38cm, 2008
SMALL FISHING BOAT ON THE BEACH, NERJA, SPAIN28 X 38cm, 2004
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