A Tall Ship and a Lightship

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

Enquiries about this painting
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)

Related posts

Pyrmont : Shadows of the past

Artist in Residence at the Sydney Heritage Fleet 2 "Blowing in the Wind

Artist in Residence at the Sydney Heritage Fleet Part 1

Australia Day 2011 at Darling Harbour Part 2 :Fire and Water

'The ship parade Australia Day 2011 Darling Harbour'
 oil painting on canvas 31 x 61cm 
  unfinished plein air painting
Enquiries about this painting

 

By about 4 I'd started to move from the Endeavour jetty down to the pontoon in Darling Harbour. I had to make a couple of trips for my chair, table and easel, and it was still quite hot and humid.
I was worried that I'd flake out before the fireworks which weren't due to start until 9pm, but the lead up events were so exciting that they kept my energy levels up.
After some music, the Australian of the Year, Senior and Junior Australian of the Year, and the Local Hero were introduced with short but moving speeches.
Then the old heritage Pyrmont swing bridge was opened to allow the ship parade to sail through led by the 'Ted Noffs', usually berthed at Moore's Wharf, next to Barangaroo.

This canvas shows the start of the spectacular ship parade.

Some spectators are on the right, and in the background is the brilliant red and yellow 'Ted Noffs' Emergency Response vessel of Sydney Ports Corporation.
This canvas got badly smudged during the long trek back, but enough remains of the initial impulse for me to be able to rescue it.

'Firetruck Barge Australia Day 2011 Darling Harbour ' 
oil painting on canvas 15 x 30cm
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A great highlight of the ship parade was when the firemen on the barge sprayed the enthusiastic crowd with water from their hose.

The crowd loved it as it was still so hot.

As many areas can be more accessible by water than by road in an emergency, the people on the fire barges are the great unsung heroes of the emergency services.

'The ship spectacular-Red Sails in the sunset-
 Australia Day 2011'
oil painting on canvas 25 x 25cm
unfinished plein air painting
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 As the firework barges began to fizz and crackle with sparks of light, graceful yachts, with their sails tinted every colour of the rainbow began to circle them.

'Fireworks Barge Australia Day 2011 Darling Harbour' 
oil painting on canvas 10 x 10cm
unfinished plein air painting
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A quick impression- just a few blobs of colour smeared on with my fingers, as I'd  dropped my brush in all the excitement.

The area where I had been working suddenly became open to the public. They were very well-behaved (I got quite a few compliments on my work) but I thought I'd better move so as not to get in the way while I was painting.

This tiny canvas got badly smudged but is still useful as a memory. I had to stuff it in the back pocket of my jeans to carry it back home- it was too small and kept falling out of my canvas carrier.

Helpful people kept picking it up for me during the long walk back after the festivities.

'Fireworks Barge Australia Day 2011 Darling Harbour ' 
oil painting on panel 30 x 34cm 
Enquiries

This plein air painting of one of the fireworks barges gives a much better idea of the beauty of the reflections of the light on the water.

'Spectators- Fireworks -Australia Day 2011 Darling Harbour' 
oil painting on canvas 61 x 41cm 
unfinished plein air painting
Enquiries

The silhouettes of people looking up in wonder at the blaze of glory above.

They are emergency services workers and their families, the honoured guests of the day.

Related posts

2012 Classic + Wooden Boat Show, Australian National Maritime Museum

Boat at Goat

Australia Day 2011 at Darling Harbour Part 1: Endeavour

Australia Day 2011 at Darling Harbour Part 1: Endeavour

1. endeavour - a purposeful or industrious undertaking (especially one that     requires effort or boldness)

2.	earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

3. a sincere attempt.

4. persistent activity

5.To work with purpose

Definitions courtesy of the free dictionary

'HMB Endeavour' on Australia Day
 2011 oil painting on canvas 23 x 31cm
  Enquiries about similar paintings

The word 'endeavour' seems appropriate to me on several levels as a theme for Australia Day.
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.

'Endeavour' on Australia Day
 2011 oil painting on canvas 23 x 31cm

  Enquiries about similar paintings

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
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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
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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
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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.

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.

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)

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
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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.

 'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011 
oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm
Sold  Enquiries about similar paintings

The completed plein air painting.
In the background is the James Craig, which was sailing throughout Australia Day, but had returned by the afternoon, in time for me to include it.

Related Posts

Beyond the sea  Painting the James Craig

Marine Art exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum

My earlier painting of Endeavour  painted on Australia Day 2007

My new still life paintings of antique navigation instruments 

My paintings of 18th century sextants, celestial globes and antique navigation charts.
The Art of Navigation 

Australia Day 2011 at Darling Harbour Part 2 :Fire and Water

2012 Classic and Wooden Boat Show at the Australian National Maritime Museum

Links

Facebook page - HMB Endeavour Circumnavigation 2011-2012 


Facebook page - Australian National Maritime Museum

Watch Paint Dry : My painting of the 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show'

'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' 
2010 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 
$2,000
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Enquiries about similar paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

I started painting this 'en plein air' at the 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' at the Australian National Maritime Museum' on Saturday 16th October despite the having to huddle up to a garbage bin to shelter from the gusts of wind. 

It was more of a demonstration to help direct notice to the exhibition of marine art inside the Museum by the members of ASMA (the Australian Society of Marine Artists) than a serious attempt to produce a work of art in public. 

By Sunday, however, the weather had settled down enough to actually get some paint on the canvas instead of myself and passers-by.  

I had to add details like some of the flags at home, and spruce it up a bit by removing hairs and lumps of grit that had stuck to the wet paint.

I didn't have much choice of subject matter, due to the gusts of wind that threatened to send my easel cartwheeling up and down the wharf.

 As I couldn't find a position to be able to paint one of the boats in all its glory, I decided to paint the atmosphere of the festival itself. This was challenging as the canvas became dotted with little unrelated vignettes as people who I had started to paint moved around.

The result was that I ended up painting mini portraits of some of the stall holders, as they moved around a bit less.

Detail of 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' 2010 
oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 'The Boat Builders ('Denman Marine')'
$2,000
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janecooperbennett@gmail.com

These are 'Denman Marine'a trio of boat builders from Tasmania. 

 

Detail of 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' 2010
oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 
'The Musicians' 
$2,000
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Enquiries about similar paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

A trio of jazz musicians in lairy fluoro suits were milling around.

Detail of 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' 2010 
oil painting on canvas 31 x 61cm 
'Hydralign Feathering Propellers'
$2,000
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janecooperbennett@gmail.com

A customer inspecting one of the 'Hydralign Feathering Propellers' on display.

Detail of 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' 2010
oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 
'Seatow'
$2,000
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Enquiries about similar paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

The team from 'Seatow' demonstrated rope tricks to impress the customers.

Related posts in this blog:

• Marine Art Exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum (janebennettartist.blogspot.com)
• Artist in residence at Maritime Museum (janebennettartist.blogspot.com)

My exhibition at the Sydney Open

An Architectural Adventure

The 'Sydney Open' -

presented by the Historic Houses Trust

My paintings will be on exhibition at several venues during the Sydney Open, a biennial event presented by Historic Houses Trust that showcases Sydney’s architectural icons.
On display for one day only on Sunday 7th November 2010
A Blast from the Past at Workplace6
I will exhibit some of my early Pyrmont paintings at Workplace6, Pirrama Road opposite Star City Casino.
I painted in Pyrmont from the early 1980's until now. These paintings show how far Pyrmont has come since its dark days as an industrial wasteland.
I have witnessed many historic moments in Pyrmont’s metamorphosis. The site of Workplace6 was then occupied by Pier 13, where so many immigrants first set foot on Australian soil. One of the paintings of Pyrmont in the early 1990's, a 'bird's eye view' painted from the rooftop of the old Pyrmont Power Station, ( now replaced by the Star City Casino) shows a big red ship in the background - the now notorious 'Tampa'!
 I have already sampled the delights of Workplace6, as I was invited to the opening of Paul Signorelli's new foodie haven 'Gastronomia' as a member of PUCC, the Pyrmont Ultimo Chamber of Commerce.
Pyrmont has certainly changed - I used to have to take my own lunch for a start! The pubs were then a 'no go' area for anyone who wasn’t looking for hard core trouble! I only experienced the odd bit of bother from the local larrikins, and as the locals got used to having an 'Artist in Residence' they would even keep an eye on my belongings and drag my paintings under cover for me if it started to rain. I felt as though I had been adopted as an honorary resident! I used to leave all my stuff lying around in the middle of Jones Bay Road (now called 'Pirrama Road) - there were few cars and the only strangers were from the cruise ships that still docked at Pier 13.

My paintings are a narrative of the abandonment, decay, destruction and reconstruction of an inner-city landscape – a metaphor for deeper changes within Australia. The mood has changed forever, and only my works remain as testament to the passing of an era.

P112   Pyrmont Goods Yard from
top of Pyrmont Power Station 
1991  ink on paper105  x131cm
Available

Pyrmont Goods Yard, Darling Island and Pier 13 from the roof of Pyrmont Power Station. The old Pyrmont/Darling Island goods line has only just ceased operations and the gleaming white Australian National Maritime Museum has only just been built. Cruise ships still docked at Pier 13.

The cluster of sheds under the land bridge to Pier 13 were old signal boxes later refurbished to be sets for the filming of the flamenco scenes of the iconic Baz Luhrman film 'Strictly Ballroom'.
The East Darling Harbour Wharves, often known as the 'Hungry Mile' and now re-christened 'Barangaroo') are in the background. 

'Construction of Star City Casino
from the top of Pyrmont Power Station' 1996
oil painting on board 40 x 89cm

Available
The long narrow building on the left, Pier 13, was once connected to Jones Bay Road by a land bridge.
Then Pier 13 became the temporary casino, painted bright yellow and the land bridge was demolished. Jones Bay Road has since been renamed Pirrama Road and now leads to the steps of Star City Casino, which is now being extensively renovated.
Workplace6 now occupies the site where Pier 13 once stood.
The brilliantly coloured ships in the background are painted to scale; they were so immense that they towered over the buildings. One of the great delights of painting in Pyrmont used to be watching the ebb and flow of ships–sturdy ferries chugging past, enormous cargo ships and majestic tankers.
I will also be exhibiting some of my Barangaroo paintings at '30 The Bond', the LendLease headquarters as part of the 'Sydney Open' on Sunday 7th November 2010 from 9.30-5pm.

Related posts

 2014 solo exhibition "Under the Hammer"
2011 solo exhibition "May close without warning"
Barangaroo : Red Square, the Drill Rig and a little archaeology

My Paintings at the Sydney Open Part 2

Recently sold paintings at Workplace 6

Recent paintings of Barangaroo

Artist in Residence at the Maritime Museum

Watch paint dry!

 Plein air painting 
at the 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show'  
Marine Art Exhibition 
at the Australian National Maritime Museum,
16 - 17th Oct 10-4pm

An Update 
 

As well as exhibiting a few paintings, I'll also have some cards and small cheap works on paper available for sale.

Also - I shall bravely attempt some plein air painting at the Maritime Museum, close to the exhibition!

I will be there all weekend, Saturday and Sunday 10am - 4pm, rain, hail or shine.
Actually you will have to watch for quite a while, before the paint dries - I work in oils!  

I don't know how much serious painting I will achieve, but everyone is welcome to come and watch and ask me questions. I know, this just proves that artists are crazy. It would be just as sensible to set up my easel in the middle of Victoria Road in peak hour.(which I have nearly actually done- it was on the median strip not on the road itself, and it was on a Saturday morning, not actually a weekday peak hour. But it was in the middle of a rather lively anti- Metro rally, so near enough. The result was chaotic yet interesting.)

I expect to do as much talking as painting.

Most people haven't seen an artist at work - one little boy said with wide-eyed wonder that it was like seeing a real live dinosaur! Quite. 

Come along and say "Hi !"

Marine Art Exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum

 Australian National Maritime Museum

I will be exhibiting these paintings at the  Australian Society of Marine Artists exhibition at the "Wooden Boat Festival"
WHEN: From 10 am - 4pm Saturday 16th October and Sunday 17th October 2010
WHERE: at the Australian National Maritime Museum
EVENT: Wooden Boat Festival
These are some of the paintings which I will be exhibiting on the October 16-17 weekend with the Australian Society of Marine Artists exhibition at the "Wooden Boat Festival"
The Australian Society of Marine Artists are a group of artists and others interested in marine and maritime art : painters, lithographers and printmakers, sculptors, model-makers and historians. Every painting style from traditional to contemporary, realist to abstract is represented : ships, seascapes, maritime history and heritage.

'The 'Spirit of Tasmania' departs for the last time

from Darling Harbour' 2006

oil painting on canvas 25 x 31 cm

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This painting is of a landmark in the history of Sydney Harbour - the final departure of the 'Spirit of Tasmania 3" from the East Darling Harbour Wharves in October 2006.
The 'Spirit of Tasmania 3" , (nicknamed 'Spot' by all the wharfies) was later sold to an overseas shipping line and I have heard that she has been renamed and is in use as a ferry in the North Sea.
The 'Spirit of Tasmania" numbers 1 and 2, are still in Australian waters, but their journeys are between Melbourne and Devonport. Occasionally they come to Garden Island, Sydney Harbour dry dock for repairs and maintenance.

The Sydney Heritage Fleet's tall ship, the 'James Craig' and Wharf 7, Pyrmont can be seen in the background.

The last journey of the 'Spirit of Tasmania 3'
It was an atmosphere reminiscent of the last day of school. People running around taking photos and swapping addresses. Manic excitement, regret, and a strange undercurrent of foreboding about what the future may bring.
To add to the sense of occasion was a touch of glamour. Added to the usual queue of cars and bikes waiting in the sun was a line of lovingly restored vintage cars, bound for a rally in Tasmania. In one of the many paintings that I started that day, I featured a green Rover and its patient driver in the foreground. I certainly had enough time to paint them as they were sitting in the queue from 9.30am to 2.30pm when they were finally allowed to drive on board. The Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW, later acquired this canvas.
Everything that wasn't nailed down was hauled off and dragged on board. I mean 'Everything that wasn't nailed down' absolutely literally and not as a lazy cliche. I had been storing some canvases and easels in a little shed and suddenly had to leap up from my wet painting and rescue them from making an unscheduled visit to Tasmania. I nearly lost my cup of coffee which I had left perched on a concrete barrier when forklifts started to load all of the concrete onto the ship.

"'Endeavour ' Tall ship race -Australia Day"
oil painting on canvas 20 x 25cm

Available  

A close up of the 'HMB Endeavour', one of the 'Tall Ships' making its way back to its mooring after the Tall Ships Parade on Australia Day 2007.

This was painted from the East Darling Harbour Wharves (now called Barangaroo) while the area was still a working port.

'The Tug 'Karoo' 2006

oil painting on canvas 28 x 36 cm

Available

For more information see My Pyrmont page in this blog

Related posts

Looking over the overlooked-Urban decay in Pyrmont
To the Point
Wrong side of the tracks - Darling Island Bond and Free

Pretty vacant

A Tale of two hotels - the Terminus and the Point

Pyrmont Paintings past and present My Exhibition in the Australian National Maritime Museum
Paintings of Pink pubs - Painting the Jolly Frog Part 2 

My exhibition at the 2010 Sydney Open

Beyond the Sea

2012 Classic and Wooden Boat Show at the Australian National Maritime Museum

Gantry

Demolition of Cruise ship Terminal at Darling Harbour 8

The Gantry

I had wondered if the gantries were to be kept intact and possibly recycled for use at the new cruise ship terminal soon to be built at White Bay.

Ironically they are instead about to be demolished by the very same man who built the orange gantry only 8 years ago.
More irony :
At the foot of the gantry is an incongrous inscription in fading and cracked fluorescent cadmium yellow capital letters :

"KEEP"

Breakfast in the ruins with my half finished canvas
of the last gantry of Wharf 8,
the former cruise ship terminal of Barangaroo

My painting of the last gantry of Wharf 8

View more of my Barangaroo paintings at my Barangaroo blog 'Painting Barangaroo'

Related posts

May close without warning

Eaten by Robots

Tie a yellow Ribbon

The Last of the Hungry Mile

Barangaroo - Tabula Rasa   

Another one bites the dust

The White Shed at White Bay