Story behind the work: ‘The Sunburnt Fisherman’

The Sunburnt Fisherman. 2020.

Oil on oil paper.

‘The Sunburnt Fisherman’ is a stream of consciousness painting executed straight onto oil paper with no preplanning or sketching.

I don’t like wasting paint and at the time I would use any left over paint to tone the surface of any paper, boards or canvas I had lying around for the next project which is what I did here with some left over red paint.

I’ve never posted this work on my Social Media page (it’s made appearances on Instagram stories but that’s all) as I suspect it’s not the sort of content that would do well amongst the competition of beautiful people, cute doggos, travel inspo pics and hilarious memes, and yet I feel it is one of my best works. Perhaps I should just share it on social media anyway but I am glad that it hasn’t got to the point where social media is affecting what I am creating just what I am sharing on certain platforms.

In this painting a sunburnt fisherman gazes out with tired eyes. His skin matches the red sky alluding to the idea that he is one with this harsh environment. His headwear is somewhere between a Baker Boy hat and a Crown topped with gold cross. On the horizon of the green sea there is a boat with two fishermen. One reaches down into the water, their arm becoming one with the boat and the ocean.

When I look at this image I wonder more about the lives of the people pictured. The body of the fisherman is boney and burnt, he looks tired, and yet with his upright posture, forward gaze and crown he also looks noble and authoritative. I simultaneously feel for the subjects in the painting with the harsh conditions they endure (I imagine them working endless long days to look this way) and at the same time I appreciate the nobleness that I imagine they must have in their unparalleled knowledge of the sea and the tenacity and endurance required for their work. My father was a Plumber by trade, very stoic in his manner and in his spare time would tirelessly work in the community often by volunteering his trade skills to fix things for people in need, so perhaps that is subconsciously affecting my relationship with this painting.

ABOVE: Stages of painting ‘The Sunburnt Fisherman’. As you can see there are no pencil marks - the painting was created line by line straight onto the paper with no pre-conceived ideas. The composition, subject matter and colours revealed itself as the painting went on.