A Royal rendezvous

Painting the Queen Elizabeth's arrival at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay, Sydney Harbour 
Woke up at 4am on a grey, drizzly dawn; at the steps of the Opera House by 5am - must be cruise ship season again!
Waiting for the royal rendezvous when the Queen Mary 2 and her newer, smaller cousin the Queen Elizabeth pass each other with Fort Denison between them.
I have gouache paints and a large block of watercolour paper to catch the occasion. However this proves not to be the most sensible choice for this type of weather. The paintings turn out well, but by the time I have chased the Queen Elizabeth to its berth for the next day and a half at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay, all the pages are well and truly stuck together as it starts to rain.
After a few more promising attempts at painting gouaches of the docking super liner get partially washed away, I try plan B and swap them for oil paints.
 

I'm starting a small plein air oil painting of the Queen Elizabeth at Circular Quay Tuesday 22nd February 2011

The Queen Elizabeth at Circular Quay from the Commissioners Steps' 2011 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm
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A young couple from Melbourne happened to wander up just as I was wondering what to paint in the foreground to show the scale of the huge ship, and add some human interest. I painted them arm in arm at the top of the Commissioner's steps. (They now own the painting).

Oil painting of ' The Queen Elizabeth at Circular Quay from the Commissioners Steps' 2011 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm
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The rain nearly drove me crazy, stopping long enough to give me a false sense of security, then setting in as soon as I settled down to get some serious painting done, but I managed to finish this oil painting at the end of the first day.
The next day I bravely started a larger canvas, knowing that the ship was due to sail at midday. I managed to paint most of the ship before it left, but have to return to fix up the sea, and sky to my satisfaction.
I will post the "Royal Rendezvous" gouaches of the 2 Queens passing each other, as soon as I can carefully prise the paintings apart, hopefully without damaging them too much.
I might be able to use them as studies to paint a canvas from in the studio.

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The CLS 4 Carpentaria, unmanned lightship

Starting a new canvas of the lightship 'Carpentaria'

with the James Craig behind it.

In the background is Barangaroo.

'The lightship 'Carpentaria' with the James Craig '

2010-11 oil painting on canvas 61 x 76cm

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A lightship is a ship acting as a floating lighthouse to aid navigation and warn ships of hazards. Lightships anchor in waters that are too deep or dangerous for a permanent lighthouse to be built.
Commonwealth Lightship 4, 'Carpentaria', was one of four unmanned lightships built at Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney, in 1916-17. After a close encounter with a container ship
in Bass Strait nearly scuttled her, the 'Carpentaria' finally retired in 1985.
Originally she had an automatic acetylene light mounted on its tall mast, with a sunlight-operated valve to switch it on and off.
The Carpentaria barely seems to need any additional light to make her visible to navigators as she has been painted an eye-ball burning bright red and has its name inscribed in huge letters on the side. She is difficult to miss against the bland white waterfront of Darling Harbour.
While I was Artist in Residence at Cockatoo Island (for the 2nd time from 2005 until 2007 when the island was being prepared for opening to the public, The 1st time was during the 1980s while the island was still an operational shipyard) I noticed the Carpentaria docked on the southern slipway adjoining Fitzroy dock for several months.
I had high hopes then that Cockatoo Island would be returned to its original purpose of a working shipyard, but no such luck.

'The lightship 'Carpentaria' with the James Craig ' 2010-11
oil painting on canvas 61 x 76cm
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The Tall Ship 'James Craig'
Behind the scenestealing lightship dominating the foreground is the square-rigger, the James Craig. She is a three-masted, iron-hulled barque currently berthed at Wharf 7 of Darling Harbour, near the Australian National Maritime Museum.
One of only 4 operational ships of her era and rig , she is a true link to the heroic age of the seafaring past. In 1972 volunteers from the Sydney Heritage Fleet refloated her and towed her to Hobart for initial repairs. She was then towed back to Sydney, and after an epic program of restoration and repairs, was finally able to set sail by 2001.
The 'James Craig' is open to the public, and is crewed and maintained by my good mates from the Sydney Heritage Fleet.
"Salt in the Air"
I am one of 10 women artists from the Australian Society of Marine Artists who have been Artists in Residence at the Sydney Heritage Fleet.
We'll hold an exhibition "Salt in the Air" aboard the James Craig to help provide funds to restore the vessels of the fleet.
This is one of the 17 paintings I'll exhibit.
The exhibition will be opened by Tanya Plibersek MP at 2pm on Saturday 27th April on board the James Craig. It is open daily 10am - 4pm from Saturday 27th April - Sunday 4th May 2013

Exhibition SALT IN THE AIR  Saturday 27th April-Sunday 4th May 2013 (asma-artistinresidence.blogspot.com)

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Paintings of the Blacksmiths at Wrought Artworks,

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'Lok forging at Wrought Artworks' 
2010 oil painting on canvas 
36 x 46 cm
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It was hard to catch Lok on his own without Dave (who was centre stage in the previous painting) from the viewpoint I had, but worth it -he looks quite heroic! I didn't want to move my position in case I got in the way.

I feel that the movement implied in the pose and the glow cast by the light from the furnace capture the element of danger of this ancient craft.
I've always loved the paintings of Caravaggio,  Georges de La Tour and the 18th century painter of the early days of the Industrial Revolution, Joseph Wright of Derby. As well as his most famous masterpieces about the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, the 'Orrery' and 'Experiment on a bird in an Airpump', Joseph Wright of Derby had painted a wonderful series of canvases of blacksmiths at the forge.

I stayed in Derby while I was on my Marten Bequest Travelling Art Scholarship, and frequently visited the Derby Art Gallery, where most of Wright's work is displayed.
My paintings of the blacksmiths are painted from life, but also pay tribute to these masters of the effects of light and shadow.

 More Eveleigh paintings

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Paintings of the Blacksmiths at Wrought Artworks,

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Eveleigh Railway Workshops

'Strike while the iron is hot'  is a very old proverb, and like the phrase 'irons in the fire' comes directly from blacksmithing.

It means when you have an opportunity to do something, do it before you lose your chance.
Plein air painters and blacksmiths both need quick reflexes.

Forging,Wrought Artworks 
2010 oil on canvas 20 x 25cm

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I grabbed the opportunity and caught a dramatic moment in a small canvas.

I don't know whether the small white hot bit of metal is supposed to be on the floor and is part of the process, or whether it was a bit of accidental run off. We're all wearing safety boots anyway, and it looks spectacular.

More Eveleigh paintings

Related posts

Irons in the fire
Watching the forge fires fade

Playing with fire

Macdonaldtown - A Station without a suburb

Eveleigh- Industrial Heritage Artist at Work

The village smithy (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)
Time for Safety 
The slow return from the fire 
The fire within 
En plein air with street cred (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)