Early morning Fishing boats, Luxor

24 x 18 inches. Acrylic  on linen

I painted this image once before but was never satisfied with it so i have re-visited  it and apart from the little boat in the foreground it is completely re worked. The light here is reflected on the Nile which at this early hour ( about 6. am ) is almost pearlescent and the houses on the far bank shimmer with their pastel painted walls.

Behind them just discernible is the pinky stone of the Valley of the Kings

Moving On

Acrylic on canvas 24 x 20

The fair is over and the business of taking it all down and moving on is beginning. Come back in a few hours and all that remains are a few black bags in the corner of the village green. Steam fairs like this one are rare now and some London boroughs have deemed them a pollution hazard.

In the Swan Upping ceremony, The Queen's Swan Marker, David Barber (pictured far right), the Royal Swan Uppers and the Swan Uppers of the Vintners' and Dyers' livery companies use six traditional Thames rowing skiffs in their five-day journey up-river.The Queen's Swan Uppers wear traditional scarlet uniforms and each boat flies appropriate flags and pennants.

In the background is part of  the world famous Brunel sounding arch painted by W Turner in Rain Steam and  Speed.

ALL UP!

Acrylic on canvas  20 x 16 inches

This painting records the annual swan upping ceremony on the River Thames. This July the boats  stopped right by our door with their shout of "All Up!"" as they spotted our resident pair and their cygnets. 

Blue Boat, The Saltings Tollesbury, Essex

Oil on canvas 20 x 30 inches.

This is an area where the sea covers the land at high tide so the boats  appear stranded . I chose oil for this painting  as the technique of alla prima suited the crusty old paint on this old rowing boat in the foreground. I enjoyed capturing the foreboding sky and the  special kind of light just before a rain storm