useful facts + excellent stories about Liberty ship Convoy

Liberty Ship paintings

Liberty ship class, a fine maritime painting showing the various types.

Liberty Ship paintings
Liberty Ship Convoy

Standard size print of “Liberty ship Convoy
image size: 52 x 35 cm (20½” x 14″)

Liberty ships confounded the critics, served successfully in all theatres of the war and world wide long after, exceeding all expectations, a rare achievement and certainly helped defeat the Axis powers.

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Last Buccaneer

Anson

George Anson’s squadron, a maritime paintings and brief summary of Anson’s amazing circumnavigation.

George Anson
The Last Buccaneers, 50 x 81 cm  (20″ x 32″), sold via A E Dutton & Sons Gallery of Chester.

George Anson’s squadron

Anson was sometimes described as “the last buccaneer” however he was not a pirate.

If you like reading and fancy reading a true story that is almost unbelievable, way beyond anything Hollywood could produce, try ‘Log of the Centurion’ by Leo Heaps.

I research the voyage including being given permission to photograph the superb model of HMS Centurion at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, and made 3 paintings back in the 1980’s.

The paintings long since sold and a summery of the story are on my website under ‘warships’, take a look and enjoy .

 

Pirates attack any ship regardless of nationality and follow no laws.

Anson only attacked enemies during wartime.

Anson and his men behaved as an exemplary Royal Navy seamen should.

Often during wars, private ships, ‘privateers’, were issued a commission to attack enemies as the Americans did on many occasions. Mostly merchant ships were the preferred prey, victims of privateers.

The French speak of corsairs with a ‘lettre de marque’ and so on with other nations.

Fortunes were sometimes made for example by Surcoff sailing out of Saint Marlo, France.

Anson
The Last Buccaneer

Unusual for a living artist Gordon Frickers has produced paintings that have already become world famous so if you are looking for the new masters of the 21st century, you have found one here.

HMS Centurion, Anson’s Centurion

HMS Centurion was a 4th 60 gun ship of the line launched at Portsmouth in 1732, Centurion  commissioned in 1734. 

Centurion served in the Home Fleet and took part in the expedition to Lisbon by Sir John Norris. 

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The marine painting of Condell leaving Portsmouth by Gordon Frickers.

The frigate Condell marine painting went down a real treat. The Chileans were very impressed and Capt Cruz the commanding officer was over the moon and said he was going to have it welded to the wardroom bulkhead so none of the Admirals, and there were six Chilean Admirals present, could get their fingers on it!” wrote Captain John Simkins a director, the Chief Executive, Disposal Services Agency of the Ministry of Defence after the presentation of the completed piece of marine art commission .Condell__ship_detail_IMG_4640_wp.jpg

The origin, this marine painting  was commissioned by

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About The Port of Chester (1863)

The main reason this fine painting “The Port of Chester (1863)” was created was to influence & assist the Chester City Council to understand the facility which was up for re-development. If more councils had as much imagination we could redevelop our towns and cities with significantly more sensitivity. They should contact this artist!!!   … Read more

The story about "Zeven Provinciën", Royal Netherlands Navy

"Zeven Provinciën", Royal Netherlands Navy

“Zeven Provinciën”

A  very fine painting of this Eighty gun Ship of the Line, full size replica now building at the Batavia Wherf,  Leylastad, in the Netherlands.

The original plan was to produce prints, the sale of which would support this amazing project. At that time it was not possible to produce small print runs economically (it is now).

Collect your signed numbered copy of this beautiful painting using Paypal from page http://www.frickers.co.uk/prints.html 

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"Roaring Forties", Sir Robin Knox-Johnston – The Story

Robin Knox-Johnston whilst completing the first non-stop single handed circumnavigationof the world with Suhaili – 16 December 1968.

Order your  copy, signed by this superstar of yachting and Gordon Frickers, a numbered Presitige edition,

 from this web site at http://www.frickers.co.uk/prints.html.

Robin Knox- Johnston, with out doubt Britain’s most famous most distinguished living sailor,  has gone on to create a list of formidable achievements not least being 3 times voted “Yachtsman of the year” and being knighted for his public services.

He’s been at it again, age 68, Robin Knox-Johnston sailed in the Velux Five Oceans Race, racing Saga Insurance, his daily blog was  an amusing, fascinating read.

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Foret de Sivens, the blasted Oak, experimenting with colour and imagination.

This vivid painting of a fine old oak started as part of a series of experiments exploring my strange colour vision, then began mysteriously to evolve into a symbol.   Blasted_Oak_detail.jpg

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