Andrew Dibben Paintings

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

FISHING BOATS AT BRANCASTER STAITHE NEW QUAYSIDE Watercolour 56 x 76cm