I have always had a fascination for oil paintings of majestic ‘Sail Driven Ships’ from a bygone era. These images capture the romance of the sea, and can stir the heart strings of a new generation. These ships and their sailors, whose skills could overcome all the challenges that the elements could throw at them, are an important part of our early New Zealand history.
This challenge appealed to me as an artist, – to try to capture on canvas with ‘brush and paint’ all the elements of ‘wind, water and light’ in a convincing way, as well as the technical aspects of painting traditional sailing ships with the correct rigging and sail configurations. This is no easy task and requires undertaking extensive research, and developing considerable skills as an artist.