Vegaskip

Some from WW1 Scapa Flow at night 'Hell Bent' Battle fleet with Destroyers HMS Warspite , steering jammed, veers out of line towards the High Seas Fleet at Jutland.

Anstruther at low tide, with Fisher Lassies cleaning and packing Herring Loading Hay Barges for Londons Equine population 19th and early 20th century ( two way trip, return journey with 'used' hay for fertilising the fields!. jim

Special commission For an old gentleman who sailed in her when he was a boy, ME!. 19/02/57 to 10/05/57 Cabin Boy. Wage £12 per month 'London Merchant' steaming up the Thames. jim

WW1 U Boat sinking a topsail schooner after crew abandons ship. In the distance Rescue!! Or another Target? jim

Graf Spee and Africa Shell. Graf Spee has a dummy turret infront of the bridge but this was just before she made a false funnel. Africa Shell was boarded, her Captain taken prisoner, the crew were allowed to row ashore in her lifeboats. The ship was then sunk with scuttling charges.

Nils I have been looking at you 'Pegasus posts your detail is amazing, a lot more difficult than painting detail jim

I some times use a straight edge and pencil if it is a long line. But mostly free hand, if you look close some lines are a bit 'wiggley' Here is a timed 'how I do it ' series Graf Spee in Montevideo. It shows the brushes I use and my pallet, with a clock showing how long it usually takes to do a A3 watercolour. Jim Sorry they didn't come out in the right sequence, start at the second from the bottom, and work up, or go by the clock. jim

Thanks Nils. I use a 'Royal and Langnickel 1/8" Dagger brush' see pic. jim

I posted this on an other web site some time ago A while back I posted a painting of a sailing ship and a verse of poetry, which some of you commented on. The poem I found on a website of the Falkland Islands, where it was on the grave marker of one of the islanders. I don't know if he wrote it himself and I trawl the Internet every now and again, but have found absolute zilch!. I was so impressed with the first verse I decided to have a go my self. I'm certainly no poet, and I don't know about copyright, and the last thing I ever wanted to do is offend any one. Any way here's what I came up with. D'ye Mind the day D'ye mind the day we squared away and ran her east by South. When she trampled down the big Horn waves with a roaring bone in her mouth. When the best of hands fought the bucking wheel , afraid to look behind. At the howling grey beards in her wake. D'ye mind old Pal, D'ye mind. D'ye mind the day, now far away, we were south of Kerguleen. With the rigging worn and the sails all torn, and the foc'le taking them green. Where that tiredness ache behind your eyes, was like to make you blind. But you soldiered on till the cold grey dawn D'ye mind old pal, D'ye mind. D'ye mind the day, down Caraccas way Where the Frigate Birds glide and the palm trees sway. Where the Dolphins ride the Bow wave bright. And a billion stars light up the night. Where the moonlit wake we towed behind Was made from memories of every kind. D'ye mind old pal. D'ye mind. D'ye mind the day in Liverpool Bay With the Pilot by the wheel. With the Crew all smiles for the last few miles But with ten thousand under her keel. Then at four o'clock in the Albert Dock We left the ship behind. To sail no more to a foreign shore D'ye mind old pal. D'ye mind. Jim

A whaling painting The Chase jim

Great storey. I love these old yarns, they resurrect the memory of an old ship and those who sailed in her. If only for a blink in time. Thanks for sharing it. Jim

If you have been at sea, especially in the Royal Navy, some of these people may be familiar to you!. Or heaven forbid, recognise your self! Jim 1. Deck and Engineroom 2. Sickbay and Galley 3. Lady Stoker! And me ! 4. Skipper. Jimmy the 1 or Chief Office, Exec. Or just an 'Osifer'.

Thank you John, you are very kind. here is HM Trawler North Coates, if I remember right she was a castle class. A very successful design more than 150 built. Jim

Pat and Wain, thanks for commenting, it makes a world of difference. Here are some more pics. Mauritania in dazzle Camoflague USS O'Brien , USS Chickopee and HMS Shah jim

Did this one this afternoon wanderers Albatross and Square rigger in the South Atlantic W/C 23" X 12"

Something different, I did this a few years ago. ' The Burning of Fort Washington' I can't vouch for accuracy it was mostly done from narrative discriptions of the event. 27 August,1814 Fort Washington on the Potomac River.A small force of Royal Navy ships Commanded by Commodore James Alexander Gordon consisting of the Frigates Seahorse 38Guns and Euryalus 36. Bomb ships Devastation, Aetna, and Meteor each with 1 X 10" & 1 X 13" mortar and the Rocket vessel Erebus. The Ships are seen here preparing to bombard the fort. after the Ships opened fire the forts Commander Capt Samuel Dyson, spiked his guns and blew up the Fort's MagazineAcrylic on canvas 31 X 15 inches

Finished. Battle of North Cape from a Destroyer's view point. Jim

Getting there,

Now 1410, most of the Destroyer in. jim

I use white Gouache straight from the tube. It acts almost the same as real foam, thick, it is white, thinned it takes on the under colour. The main colour for the sea, I use Indigo, with a touch of other colours as I think necessary. I use the same painting technique whatever the medium. Oil Acrylic or W/C Jim this is what I am doing right now although I have stopped for lunch North Cape again

Here is a 'how I paint my pictures' the painting is titled "Make less smoke" Corvette admonishes elderly vessel in convoy. hope they come out in the correct order . Time taken, one afternoon approx 4 hrs. 16" X 10" jim

Here's an unusual one, Marine painting with Hippos and Efelumps.Up river from the last one Konigsberg in her Lair.watercolour 16" x 12" HM ships Severn and Mersey maneuver into position in the Rufiji River in East Africa during the action against the German Light Cruiser Konigsberg in WW1

I call this 'Leading the Way' jim

Thanks for commenting. I joined in 1958 and left in 1968, just as they were coming into RN service. I did however work with a fair number of A/C from the cartoon. Sea Hawk, Sea Venom, all mrks of Gannets. Scimitar, Sea Vixem, and Buccaneer. Helicopters Dragonfly Wasp Whirlwind Wessex . Now I just paint them. jim

Another a/c related painting Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam Seaplane tender USS Currytuck hoists a P5M Martin Marlin of VP-48 aboard for servicing, while another takes off. USCGC Half Moon in the distance and LST, USS Washtenaw County as depot for small craft. jim