Corvette commission

I have just delivered my latest maritime commission, an enjoyable and interesting journey it turned out to be. The  painting was a 90th birthday present for a former member of the ships crew.

HMS Rhododendron (A Flower Class Corvette) has family associations for me also. Coincidentally during research for the painting I was contacted by relatives of one of her former Captains.

The "Flowers" were the largest class of warship ever built for the Royal Navy (270 built). Very small for an ocean going warship, they rolled and pitched violently, making even veteran sailors violently seasick! They made a major contribution to winning the Battle of the Atlantic.

Below are a few selected stages of the development and then the final painting.

Initial composition,
the corvette in her natural environment.

Sketch for client approval

Main elements blocked in with underpainting

Completed work, HMS Rhododendron 1944-45

Officer of the watch

I have long had a desire to capture the activity on the bridge of a warship on convoy duty in World War II. Despite the immense search power of the internet I have found relatively few pictures around which I could compose a painting.

The reason I think is that photography was not encouraged, except on official business, security being paramount. Therefore not many pictures exist, and fewer still that fitted the pose I wanted to execute.

I managed to find a few that approximated the angle I wanted to portray, below are the preliminary ideas followed by the final painting.

Initial concept and notes

Sketch of a possible colour palette

The final painting "Officer of the watch"

National Maritime Museum

One of my marine paintings hangs in the Members Room of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, one of eleven works by members of the museum's Art Club.

The show lasts from March 18 until July 15.

Russian Convoy 1942 at the National Maritime Museum

Exhibition by the National Maritime Museum Art Club.