Monday, June 08, 2015

"Boat under blue Tarpaulin"

A recent trip to Cornwall, helping a friend with  glass-work installation but I managed to grab time off to paint as well.
Whilst painting this boat, I popped back  into their  house,( yards away, on the waters edge) for a quick chat and coffee, but when I came out 15mins later the tide had gone out,  passed the boat, so missed painting the lovely water reflectins here but I just caught a bit to the RH of the boat.   

Lesson of the day: The tide waits for no-one!

10" x 12"  Oil on board.




The next morning I had a lift on a small motor dinghy, to  the town of Fowey (pronounced 'Foy') across the river. It was a dull, cold drizzly start - very people were about,  feeling conspicuous, very overburdened with  easels and paint gear I eventually found somewhere quiet to  paint, on the quay for a boat tour to  Mevagissey, The town perched precariously above a cliff of complex layers of rock strata, with  ancient rusting hanging ladders, but beautiful moving water,  I settled to paint, probably for a good hour till the tide went out ...........  at the time feeling the cold, hungry, lack of sunlight, etc the painting seemed  drab and a total disaster -  but now it somehow looks OK.
A few yards behind me was a shelter and seats overlooking the view of the river meeting the sea,, a memorial gift from American Forces who'd been there in  WWII. Apparently the  harbour was full of landing barges, preparing for the great invasion, the  'D' Day Landing. "You could  cross the wide river by climbing over the closely packed barges" so the notice read. Then one morning they were suddenly all gone -'D' Day had arrived".

12" x 10" oil on board

Another view of the the  blue tarpaulin boat from my friends Veranda, Tide was out again, but a spray of white Blackthorn blossom and lots of early Spring growth catching sunlight on the wooded slopes behind. 
Oil on canvas 16" x 20"


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