Afloat or Ashore is a new painting competition and exhibition focussing on the wonderful heritage of our National Historic Ships
As a coastal painter and marine artist, Afloat or Ashore 2024 sparked my interest immediately. This new painting competition and exhibition came from a collaboration of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, Wapping Group of Artists, and National Historic Ships UK.
Participation in this exhibition and competition required a painting depicting one of the 2000 or so vessels on the Historic Ships register
My desire to be involved in this new competition was never in doubt, the question was, what did I want to paint? I decided early on I wanted my work to be ‘Afloat’. As a plein air painter, it was also important to me the work was either completed outdoors or certainly had foundations from painting in front of the subject.
The National Historic Ships Register includes vessels from locations across the United Kingdom and the world. I decided to keep my work much closer to home however.
‘Spitfire of the Seas’ MBG 81 Motor Gun Boat
About the painting ‘Spitfire of the Seas’
When MGB 81 came into view, I could not believe my luck and I was hopeful she may be on the historic ship register. At this stage, my board already had details of the foreshore, mid water, distant seashore, and features of the Isle of Wight plotted in.
MGB 81 was powering through the sea, so I had to be quick to get any kind of observations down. With fast mark making, I captured her position in the water in relation to the horizon line, her length to height ratio, the shape of her hull and her impact as she displaced the water. I was then able to continue with on-site observations around these marks.
I was really looking forward to getting this back to my studio to complete, it felt like an exciting piece of work. I also took the time to research her history and how I came to have the chance to see her that day.
View details of my painting on the RSMA website
Histrory of MGB 81
MGB 81 is a 71.5ft Motor Gun Boat built by the British Powerboat Company and commissioned for the Royal Navy in 1942. At this time, she was among the fastest boats of her type in the world, and she is now the only operational MGB in the world. Her role in WW2 included action in the English Channel and Hook of Holland, attacking enemy torpedo boats and landing secret agents on occupied soil. MGB 81 was later involved in the D-Day Operations off Omaha Beach, 6thJune 1944.
Click here to view the exhibition online on the Royal Society of Marine Artists website