| 2. | earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something |
3. a sincere attempt.
4. persistent activity
5.To work with purpose
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'HMB Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011 oil painting on canvas 23 x 31cm Enquiries about similar paintings |
Plein air painting on a popular public holiday, at the hub of all of the festivities, certainly requires a fair bit of 'effort or boldness', is hopefully 'a purposeful or industrious undertaking' and is definitely an 'earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something'.
It's also the name of one of the most famous ships to visit Australia, one closely associated with our recent Australian history.
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'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011 oil painting on canvas 23 x 31cm |
A very short tall ship!
I started my painting of the small canvas of the 'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011, a bit after 9am. She is docked at her customary jetty for the Australia Day festivities and to give her many fans a last opportunity to explore her for quite a while.
Tomorrow the HMB Endeavour will go to Garden Island to be prepared for her next heroic voyage - the circumnavigation of Australia. This is the reason why her masts are a lot shorter than normal, as prior to this, she had some work done over at Glebe.
One spectator irreverently referred to the ship as 'Mrs Stumpy'. I think I saw her figurehead wince at this indignity.
I was able to finish this small plein air painting on the day, by just before lunch-time, despite the general craziness of the Australia Day celebrations.
My 'endeavour' had paid off!
Painting the large canvas of the 'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011
oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm
An unfinished plein air painting
Sold Enquiries about similar paintings
I had chosen a good spot at the end of the jetty where I could observe and paint without being trampled.
Now the big decision- do I stay put ? Or move in search of the spot promised to me on the pontoon?
The ship parade was not due to start until after 5pm so I decided to push my luck and start a large canvas. This might be my last chance to paint the Endeavour for a long time, so I might as well make the most of it.
My family motto was "You might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb". (This could have had something to do with how some of my ancestors came to Australia in the first place!)
Painting the large canvas of the 'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011
oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm
An unfinished plein air painting
Sold Enquiries about similar paintings
In the background is another tall ship, the James Craig, which was sailing throughout Australia Day, but had returned by the afternoon, in time for me to include it in this canvas.
This is still unfinished, but most of the ship has been completed, leaving only the lighthouse, details of the Australian National Maritime Museum and some of the rigging to finish.
Detail of 'The 'Endeavour' Australia Day 2011 ' - 'Cannons'
'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011
oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm
Sold Enquiries about similar paintings
This is quite a large canvas for a plein air painting.
I have included some close-up details.
Because the other end of the jetty was taken up with queues of people waiting to tour the ship, I had a fairly empty foreground which set off the bold colouring of the ship.
Because the other end of the jetty was taken up with queues of people waiting to tour the ship, I had a fairly empty foreground which set off the bold colouring of the ship.
On my left were a magnificent pair of cannons, one apparently aimed at the Endeavour and the other at the distant James Craig, and I couldn't resist including them.
Every now and then a face would peer at me from the dark hold of the ship, squinting against the glaring afternoon sun.
Every now and then a face would peer at me from the dark hold of the ship, squinting against the glaring afternoon sun.
When the shadows began to lengthen, I started to pack.
The Australian National Maritime Museum would be closed by 6pm, and I had at least 2 trips to make to put all of my painting stuff- folding table,chair, easel and canvases, some of it heavy and all of it awkward, on the pontoon. The pontoon wasn't that far away, probably about 400-500 metres, but the heat was stifling, and it is tricky transporting still-wet canvases around through the crowd without smearing the paint. Or getting paint on any of the onlookers! (I didn't)
The Australian National Maritime Museum would be closed by 6pm, and I had at least 2 trips to make to put all of my painting stuff- folding table,chair, easel and canvases, some of it heavy and all of it awkward, on the pontoon. The pontoon wasn't that far away, probably about 400-500 metres, but the heat was stifling, and it is tricky transporting still-wet canvases around through the crowd without smearing the paint. Or getting paint on any of the onlookers! (I didn't)
People were absolutely wonderful all day long. I was handed bottles of water by perfect strangers, and volunteers or even passers by would keep an eye on my things while I moved to the new location.
Detail of The 'Endeavour' Australia Day 2011 - 'Old mate'
Painting the large canvas of the 'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011
oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm
An unfinished plein air painting
Sold Enquiries about similar paintings
Detail of The 'Endeavour' Australia Day 2011 - 'Old mate'
Painting the large canvas of the 'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011
oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm
An unfinished plein air painting
Sold Enquiries about similar paintings
The original
HMB Endeavour, launched in 1764 as the collier Earl of Pembroke, was renamed 'Endeavour' and commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of exploration 1769-1771.
This voyage was partly a scientific mission and partly a journey of discovery and exploration. Cook set out to observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun, intended to help scientists discover the size of the Earth by the parallax method. After the transit of Venus, Cook searched the seas of the still largely uncharted Pacific Ocean for the legendary 'Terra Australis Incognita' or "unknown southern land". After circumnavigating New Zealand, Endeavour reached the east coast of Australia at what is now known as Botany Bay in April 1770.
Colliers had a flat-bottomed design well-suited to sailing in shallow waters, allowing them to be beached for loading cargo or for basic repairs without requiring a dry dock. This would later prove to be a very useful attribute, when despite Cook's consummate skill , the ship narrowly avoided disaster on the treacherous shoals of the Great Barrier Reef and had to be beached on the mainland for seven weeks for repairs to her hull.
It is so difficult in our age of “Google Earth” to appreciate the isolation and danger of such a journey.
The original Endeavour was scuttled in Narragansett Bay in 1778.
In January 1988, as part of commemoration of the Australian Bicentenary of European settlement of Australia, work began on the Endeavour replica.
She was finally launched in 1994 and is usually berthed in Darling Harbour.
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'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011 oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm Sold Enquiries about similar paintings |
Links
Facebook page - Australian National Maritime Museum
