My wife, Mary, is from Liverpool and Halifax, Nova Scotia and has always wanted me to paint the famous Liverpool Packet. The Covid down time has given me the inspiration to paint this ship after doing much research. This is a difficult ship/ boat to paint as there are no plans or official paintings of her but we know she was a Baltimore Clipper schooner – so we worked from the clipper schooner lines even though the Liverpool was quite a bit smaller.
“Meeting over the Banks”
(Grand Banks, off Newfoundland)
The Grand Banks are situated off Canada’s east coast and for centuries they proved to be one of the world’s richest fishing grounds. While European vessels had fished the banks before, it was in the 1800’s that Canada and the US developed a new breed of fishing schooner especially designed to exploit the riches of the banks. Fast, capable schooners would sail out from eastern ports to deploy their crews in small dories to fish with hand lines.
“Bound for Sea” (south entrance to the Fraser River, BC)
During the days of sail, square rigged ships berthed in Steveston to load the annual pack of salmon.
“Evening Colours”, (Desolation Sound, BC)
The ever beautiful wonder of Desolation Sound proves a fantastic backdrop for trollers setting out for an opening in the Gulf of Georgia.
Colours from the forest, sky, and water combine to create a magical moment.
“Sunlight in Barkley Sound”, (west coast of Vancouver Island, BC)
Seine boats head out in a stiff westerly breeze in Barkey Sound. They will shortly make a set for what used to be an area rich in salmon. Today the large fleet that annually fished the area is sadly, no more.
“Towing Out of the Fog”, (Central Coast, BC)
The BC logging industry relies heavily on tugs to move most of its logs around the coast. Working the large collection of rafts down the coast – through narrow tide swept passages – and around rocky islets takes a great amount of skill which only comes with experience. Weather can produce huge challenges – from storms to fog and all challenges are faced with incredible professionalism.
“Calm Morning” (Port Townsend, WA, USA)
A few years ago, after participating in the Classic Boat Festival in Victoria with our historic wooden boat, we decided to visit the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend. We found the excitement of being surrounded by other wooden boats and wooden boat owners to be very stimulating and encouraging. This painting depicts the scene early one morning before all the guests had arrived and shows the harbour where the non participants, but still mostly wood, anchored.
“Evening in Thulin Passage” (enroute to Desolation Sound, BC)
When heading north to Desolation Sound many choose to pass through Thulin Passage. Now declared a Marine Park, it offers a delightfully protected anchorage for yachtsmen and kayakers alike.
“Preparing the RAS deck” – HMCS Protecteur, RIMPAC somewhere in the Pacific Ocean
I was privileged to ship aboard HMCS Protecteur to capture events during one “RIMPAC”. This is an exercise where, in this case, 8 navies from our Pacific coast neighbours work together.
It was a great experience for me to travel aboard the supply ship for the operation and see how the “RAS” -Replenishment at Sea- operation unfolded. In this painting you can see how the lines were set up to move the fuel and water pipes across from Protecteur to the receiving vessel. It is a complex operation and safety is of prime importance. See explanation below.
Until the buffer realized that I was an experienced seafarer and would not get myself in danger, I was required to remain at quite a distance from the action. But very quickly he realized that I knew my way around and he allowed me to get close enough to photograph and sketch things.
Five weeks aboard allowed me to get to know my shipmates and become good friends with many of them. Tea time on the Protecteur is something I will always talk about.
Following is an explanation of what is happening in the painting:
Prior to conducting a replenishment at sea, the seamen/women (or bosuns) must prepare all the necessary gear. Messengers, or lines, to be passed between the ships must be “flaked out” on deck so that they will not become entangled as they run out. Once the lines have been prepared, a rifle will be used to fire a “gun line” that will be attached to other lines increasing in size and strength. Finally a taut wire is passed. down which will ride travellers supporting the large, heavy fuel lines as they are paid out from the tanker to the other vessel. Replenishment techniques were developed during the Second World War to enable ships to stay at sea longer, especially during lengthy convoy deployments.
Changing Perspectives, Rio di San Travaso (Venice)
Changing Perspectives, Rio di San Travaso
This is Venice, with two gondolas passing the gondola shipyard on the left of the painting. This facility was a few blocks away from our hotel in the Dorsoduro area of Venice and we spent a lot of time watching the workers as they moved gondolas into and around the yard for repair. Two tourist vessels pass and you can see the winding canal twist and turn between the historic buildings. Many different vanishing points and sight lines are required as the buildings start to sink into the canals due to their instability. Nothing is straight in Venice!
This is one of the 15 contemporary paintings I produced for a major exhibition at the Winchester Gallery in Victoria, BC, Canada. I also produced 7 large historic Venice paintings and spent hours in the Naval Museum sketching and photographing the ship models and historic images of Venice Lagoon.
http://www.marina.difesa.it/en/Pagine/default.aspx