Gordon Frickers artiste – Peintre 81170 Itzac ~ yep that was it; nothing else and yet the letter (or should I say lettre?) arrived all be it eventually.

Andre Lafargue’s letter reminded my of some thing I read very recently about Horatio Nelson while researching Nelson’s time in the frigate Minerve, I was reading in a book by the noted poet Robert Southey (born 1774).
Robert Southey was also a reliable and versatile writer, including his “The life of Nelson”, first published in 1813.

The story goes, in the days before Horatio Nelson was world famous and not yet an Admiral, he established a formidable reputation at least in Italy, while a captain serving around Italy.
Southey wrote of Nelson, (page 92 in my copy) “A letter came to him directed “Horatio Nelson, Genoa:” and the writer when asked how he could direct it so vaguely, replied, “Sir, there is but one Horatio Nelson in the world”.

We know my art work is much undervalued so has huge investment potential, but a comparison with the rising star of Nelson? To much flattery!

~

Many of the books on Nelson either don’t mention his time on Minerve (some times wrongly refered to as La Minerve) or barely mention it.
And yet the Minerve voyage was a curtain raiser, Minerve lead directly to Nelson’s becoming a famous celebrity in Britain, a knighthood and appointment as Rear Admiral.
I was researching for an article I shall write soon for this blog and my web site about Horatio Nelson, how Nelson’s character is revealed when he sailed on the frigate Minerve, while in the Mediterranean under orders to evacuate British bases.

My new Minerve marine painting shows Nelson at Gibraltar, 10th December 1776 when he transferred from HMS Captain so a bargain!

You have 2 Nelson ships for the price of one!

Minerve as a marine painting has been created from a sketch I drew many years ago one evening over a beer at the Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club where for many happy days my family and I were members.
At the suggestion of my friend Chris Boddington it has been adapted for this new work of art.
Adapting has been some what more complicated than I first expected.
Besides extensive re reading and consulting my mate Peter Goodwin on some aspects, I even visited by special arrangement, Her Majesty’s Hydrographic Office at Taunton (see this blog, November 2009) to see period charts and maps of Gibraltar bay.

I also found loads of faults and omissions (mostly very forgivable) in other artist’s paintings and am some what on my metal because I will have to show an unusual amount of rigging with most mind boggling accuracy, well at least it boggled my mind!

The Minerve painting is a continuation of my series, Nelson, Trafalgar, the less known but interesting aspects, originally commenced as a special commission to help raise funds for HMS Victory’s restoration to her Trafalgar condition ready for 2005.
In those days I had the unique honour of carrying a letter of introduction from the then commander of HMS Victory.
Wow did that open doors and archives, fascinating!

Some times research takes a much unexpected turn.
In the case of this painting, several including with regard to the colour of the yellow strip on Nelson’s ships.
My painting of Minerve may be, thanks especially to the research of Peter Goodwin, who you may know as curator of HMS Victory and author of may authoritive, factual  marine books,  the first ever to have the yellow exactly to Nelson’s ordered recipe / formula.
Peter Goodwin found a letter from Nelson specifying the mix and asked me to make some tests which I did, posting the results and notes to Peter.
One of the results is probably 98% of the paintings of Nelson’s ships have the wrong colour including my earlier efforts!
Don’t believe me? Compare for yourself!

That alone makes this new marine painting rather special does it not?

I intend showing this new marine art featuring Minerve and Captain to several galleries for their guidance and retaining it as one of the centre pieces of my forthcoming exhibition next year by invitation of the European Parliament.

Unless some one (again – I recently ‘lost’ Talybius this way…) makes me an offer I can’t refuse!

I have the marine painting “Cattewater Plymouth, Australia bound emigrants prepare to board the clipper ship Samuel Plimsoll” 98% finished, here is a detail, I’ll show you this complete major painting on this blog any day now.

I have been looking for good photographs of HM Submarine Unique. I found a link that took me to the Submariners Association only the page was blank.

Or was it? I am reminded of the joke about the model of a stealth ship in a museum, it goes some what like this, “The models were wonderful, so detailed until I got to the Stealth ship, the case was empty… or was it?”

Why the  British U class submarine HMS Unique?

I am preparing a painting for the son of her last commander Lt R.E. Boddington.

British U class submarines are not to be confused with the German U Boats.

The U class were a class of 49 small submarines all of which had names beginning with ‘U’, built just before and during the Second World War originally intended as unarmed training vessels.

The boats ( in the Royal Navy submarines are called boats never ships…) mostly served in the home waters and with the 10th Submarine Flotilla based at Malta.

The submarine Unique was part of a second batch, the group included a number of submarines that would  become particularly famous.

There was a grim price though, only three out of the twelve survived the war.

Unique became overdue after being ordered to patrol on the surface off the Spanish Atlantic coast.

Her loss with all hands has never been explained.

My submarine painting will be a special family memorial and tribute to the lads who never came home.

~

I am also trying to find out how to define the ensigns flown by British war ships during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.

We know there were Admirals of the Blue, Red and White so the questions are who flew which ensign, where and why, did the ships under their commands fly the same colour ensign?

I’d particularly like to know which colour ensign was flown at Gibraltar on the 10th December 1796 by HMS Captain and HMS Minerve?

While in that period It would also help to find some or all of the flags and signals of Admiral Popham’s code (published 1803), or at least some of the more famous signals.

One of the reasons for this supplementary question is I am about to begin a marine painting of the action in which the Spanish frigate Mercedes, carrying near a million in treasure, tragically blew up and sank

~

Also on the stocks is a marine painting I have been ‘threatening’ to produce for about 6 years, a new version of Trafalgar Dawn

( http://www.frickers.co.uk/marine-art/trafalgar_dawn.html ) only this time we will see the view not from HMS Victory but from the French Flag ship Bucentaure.

I have the research as complete as I can manage although as usual with historical scenes it is only a best guess all be it a very well informed guess.

Typical of the problem is the French seamen  did not always conform to the regulation book issued by Napoleon in 1803.

Similarly we do not know exactly what the order of the  British fleet was so have to estimate some of the ships and this after reading logs and eye witness accounts ~ unless you know better in which case tell me and I’ll see you have a complimentary copy of the picture, one of our Prestige prints on cotton canvas, numbered and signed, the sort of collectors item you can order from the www.frickers.co.uk Marine Print Gallery (http://www.frickers.co.uk/prints.html)

~

This week in the Tarn,  following 2 days of some times heavy rain we have had clear blue and mostly vapour trail less skies with temperatures over 10 C at night climbing to the high twenties during the days.

The light has been at it’s luminous best.

This is spring in the Tarn and forests of Siven and Grisigne although to me it feels like high summer in Cornwall.

The birds and small animals here know better and are apt, minds focused on procreational problems, to forget their curb drill so most of us drive at not over the speed limits here because it makes sense and besides the wee beasties lives are hard enough with out some nitwit doning 90 mph instead of 90 kph.

They make a heck of an ‘amoure’ driven racket including at night constantly reminding me I exist very alone.

The bird song here is constant including our first cockoo over 2 months ago and nightingales at night to accompany the crickets and singing of frogs – and for frogs I mean frogs, not the Toulouse Rugby supporter sort, these are more likely to be heron’s dinner sort of frogs,  they can be very noisy in full passion!

This evening about 20.00 I went for an evening run by the lakes at Vere one of which is a summer pool drained over each winter, being refilled now.

I do not kid you, you could hear the joyous frogs at least 300 yards away maybe more!

My only problem is my shared studio is to small for meduim sizes paintings which causes problems while painting any picture over 2′ wide as it is adequat to get to the right viewing distances.

Eventually I’ll have to move but to where and how much will it cost?

I have often wished I was painting landscapes and building on the tan I acquired after Easter at the Antibes Yacht Show however the demands of marine art are holding me in the studio.

The roads are suffering  – again… This time it is shrinkage that is the problem, Chasse Deformer is a frequent road sign around here as surfaces distort some quite dangerously.

Difficult for drivers but it is never a good idea to speed around here not so much because of the flick rather the plants and animal wild life are having a great time particularly the latter.

Went to Gaillac, shopping for food, not exciting ?

The first of the new fruits are “in”. h

Huge baskets of huge succulent strawberries, 1.5 Euro, the first melons a euro each, and lots of other delicious foods are appearing all cheap,  little wonder French women are not fat like so many Brits and Americans.

We have so many very tastey healthy things to eat here in the temperate South West of France; I had half a perfectly ripened melon for breakfast, great start to the day.

It is a novelty for me with my roots in S E England in the aftermath of the second world war, ration cards, oranges a luxury for Christmas, I still think of these foods as luxuries but they are not luxuries here, nor is asparagus, artichoke and a tasty heap of other good eating.
Problems?

Well yes this is a flawed paradise, chocolate melts.

This is the renowned marine painting, reproduced in several learned books and considered by some leading experts the definitive marine painting of HMS Pickle, a painting from which even the prints have created a history with copies going to among others, Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, The Royal Naval Air Service and the New York Yacht Club!

I have urgent dispatches is still available as a prestige limited edition.

Signed by the artist and at very affordable prices, as are many of the other prints in the Gordon Frickers growing selection.

I’m just starting to re optimize my web site, a job that is overdue and very likely to increase sales however only The Schooner Vagrant is currently at risk of being sold out.
You can check these prints out on page http://www.frickers.co.uk/prints.html, also place your order securely and easily online from this page

~

Other Nelson news is the attached picture of Nelson at Gibraltar, while still a long way from finished as you can see from the following pop up pics, Nelson at Gibraltar is beginning to be detailed so completion is probably only about 20 hours away ~ but it has to compete with the Samuel Plimsoll for my attention!

As usual with my significant historical paintings there are some neat touches appearing.

For example when you read about this period some odd ship names keep coming up in the Mediterranean like Tartan and Xebec so thanks to my very rare copy of Serres great book guide to marine painters we have a Tartan and a Xebec in this painting.

Can you spot the Tartan and the Xebec?

Part of my intention is to recreate the business of Gibratar and it’s bay at that period hence the inclusion of the Tartan and Xebec.

Who knows which is which and what they were?

Of course the rigging of Minerve is barely started and the rigging on most of the other ships are incomplete however there is now enough detail to begin to guess how this marine painting will turn out particularly if you have had a long look at some of the pop up details on www.frickers.co.uk in the marine gallery.

Nelson is beginning to be identifiable, the uniforms of the Marine guard I think are correct (you know some thing I don’t? If so please speak up!) as are many other clothing details and away in the middle distance we can now see crew at work on the 74 gun ship of the line HMS Captain.

I hope by now if you are unfamiliar with my marine art you will have realised I carry out more than average research?

I consult some rather special sources and have even sailed on a square rigger which was 10 years older than the Cutty Sark!

For sure, Nelson at Gibraltar direct from me, it won’t cost the lucky purchaser anywhere near the asking price of the original of I have urgent dispatches!

Maybe that makes it a great bargain?
It’s what often happens to my paintings, I have to watch them re sold for far more than I got, ahh well, ce la vie and good luck to all the owners of my “children”.

Nelson at Gibraltar is not pre sold.

I am happy for who ever purchases, I aim to give excellent value to every clinet, my clients in turn have enabled me to have an amazing 30 years painting and I’ve learnt the ultimate compliment is I think, “I’ll buy it”!
~
I am also working on a second version of Trafalgar Dawn, this time the French view at 06.05 but it is not sufficiently advanced to  show just yet.
I have though started the drawing. So what you yawn? Give me a break mate, this has taken 7 years to research that is a detective story in it’s self!
This is going to be a famous painting, make no mistake about that.
The French I discovered refer to Trafalgar as “the catastrophe of Trafalgar“.
That said, most of their people as is not generally known in Britain, fought very bravely as did many of the Spaniards.
The French have always had a great maritime tradition as alive today as ever.
~
Thus, I was recently asked by the president of the Laperouse Society to make enquiries in England about the possibility of working with other museums dedicated to great navigators and explorers with a view to jointly raising European funding.
There are numerous historical replicas built and building in France, maybe we could involve the French in one of our Pickle nights?
~
I still love boat building.
I was super fit in my boat building and dinghy racing days, sadly I am going soft here in the Tarn ~ I must go down to the sea again…
I am being asked to helm a Wayfarer at the World Championship this year and am worrying that I’m not fit enough to cope.
I stopped sailing dinghies (mostly Laser) 4 years ago…
I wouldn’t mind a dinghy for day cruising and to keep fitter but my days of winning at national and International level are history.
A winter capsize from a Laser at Plymouth taught me that!

I’ll be in England end of May and most of June, after a brief stay in S Brittany (Loire Atlantic).
The general quality of life here in France is wonderful, the French work hard and know how to party and play, seem to like me and lots of people say “why would you ever want to go back?“

The frame alone will cost some £500.00

The painting as you can see from previous blog entries is progressing steadily.

My intention in the background is to show a busy scene, a lot of activity, a lot of life.

Unlike many marine painters, I am not shy of including people going about their daily tasks.

I think this could be partly because I am facinated by working people and partly thanks to my excellent professional training as an artist and Art Photographer.

I am some times reminded when I see  would be struggling artists (with whom I have much sympathy and always try to encourage) of John Constable’s amusing if cruel remark about self taught artists, roughly he said, ‘when I see a  self taught artist I am aware he was taught by a very ignorant person…’

Moving back to less  controversial ground, some of this work is produced wet on wet, in this case a recent example is the way the sea is painted.

There will be more work on the sea,  however the basic underlying painting is now in place showing a calm day and swell from the South West while the breeze has backed to North West as indicated by the craft shown sailing and will later be further indicated as the sea surface is completed.

At other times, particularly now detail is beginning to be added, I have to wait for paint to dry.

You can seen the beginnings of fine detail, rigging and other delicate art work appearing and maybe begin to guess how the finished art work will appear?

There are still many many hours of work before this marine painting which has also to be an historic document is completed, for example the Minerve has no gun ports yet.

There will also be some surprises yet to show, in this painting when finished…

We can though begin to see some of the crew of Minerve and the crew of Nelson’s boat and what they are about including a marine guard and some of the crew drawn up to receive Nelson, none of the figures though are as yet finished.

Each figure will be a personality, clothing, hair styles etc all have to be as correct for the period as possible.

The plan is to include much fine detail but arrange this marine painting to view well from any distance thus making it a very worthy addition to any collection of fine paintings.

I have a number of copies of portraits of Horatio Nelson and intend he will be recognisable as a figure in the stern sheets of the longboat.

The intention is to record the day Nelson transferred from HMS Captain, a 74 gun ship of the line (middle background) to HMS Minerve a frigate, French built.

Of the occasion, Nelson wrote to his wife, don’t worry, I am off on a special mission but it is not dangerous.

Little did Nelson know the adventures that lay ahead included him almost being captured.

Such was the dangerous life lead by so many men during the Revolutionary and  Napoleonic Wars…

~

What is the purpose and future for this marine painting of a bygone age?

I learnt so much about the Georgian navy back in the 1990’s when I had the unique privilege of working for HMS Victory so it seems a pity not to share, use and enjoy that experience.

This picture of Nelson started life as a sketch I drew one evening in 1998 at the Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club while thinking through ideas for a scene from the voyage of the French navigator and discoverer Laperouse, at Botany bay, a painting I expect to produce this year.

Much more recently a friend and fellow painter, Chris Boddington suggested adapting the scene along the lines we now see.

It was a useful suggestion because The Trafalgar Collection, owned for the past 15 or so years by 2 gentlemen in London is now being offered for sale, prices from £10,000.00, and they asked if I might paint a  more scenes to add to the collection.

I also have a second version of the renowned “Trafalgar Dawn“, now ready to mark out, the opposite view, from the Combined Fleet…

I don’t yet know the future of this unsold painting however it could be a fine example to show at the exhibition offered me at the European Parliament, a show I have had to put off until next year mostly because of difficulties securing appropriate dates.

On the other hand, if some one makes me an offer I can’t refuse (which happened with the original “Trafalgar Dawn“)…

There have been some significant developments in this marine painting  including Gordon Frickers is able to be the first, here to show  some results of collaboration, new research into the quality of the bright yellow preferred by Nelson on his ships, more on that below…

This new marine painting is beginning to come to life with the basic structure now complete.

The ships are anchoured and moored much as they would have been following research into the original charts of the time by the artist with special thanks to the staff of H.M. Hydrographic Office Taunton for their very generous welcome and full co operation.

Still to be added, many more people, the port of Gibraltar we can safely guess,  was a busy place in Nelson’s day?

The sea still needs much work, the artist’s intention being to show a calm sea with a S W swell entering the bay, the wind having backed to a light N.E. breeze.

The harbour is yet to be populated with numerous busy small craft some under sail others under oar including some of distinctively Mediterranean types.

Plus if you used the pop up facility clicking on the picture above, I doubt if the facts escaped your notice re the lack of rigging on the ships show?

~

Following research by Peter Goodwin, Keeper and Curator of HMS Victory and author of much merit, a “recipe” was found recently in a letter from Horatio Nelson for the mix of Nelson’s bright yellow.

We may be seeing the correct colour for the first time since living memory; which means the ship Victory may have her stripes repainted.

You may be aware, following the dry docking of the then rather rotten HMS Victory and her first 20th century major overhaul in 1921/2 (partly paid for by the excellent Society of Nautical Research) HMS Victory had her white “Victorian Navy” stripes painted bright yellow because the people of the time referred to her bright yellow warlike stripes.

Fine except bright yellow in 1922 was a chrome yellow not available until about 1820 by which time you may have already deduced, Horatio Nelson had had his last day…

During the 1990’s and following a long discussion between this artist and Peter Goodwin on the origins and nature of paint, not as anorak ish as it first sounds because this was to influence a sight seen by a million plus visitors to HM Historic Dockyard Portsmouth per year,  Peter was eventually able to convince the authorities and experts that  they used the wrong yellow.

Peter is a very remarkable man who has to deal with ministries, government departments, old guard, know alls, jobworths etc.

How he does that is a story in its self!

Happily he does have some first rate colleagues who given sufficient evidence will support his some times “radical” discoveries and requests.

HMS Victory may be in for another repaint soon, can you guess why?

I’d had a problem with this yellow business for a long time.

I’d noticed a remark of Nelson’s which requested his captains immediately before Trafalgar to paint the bands on their masts black to distinguish their ships (in the smoke and confusion of battle ) from the French who guess what, had white masts…

Now why would Nelson write that if the mast of the British fleet were yellow?

I have not yet spoken again with Peter about this side issue given his latest discover re the yellow used but I have a theory for Peter…

~

The change of subject for the original sketch was suggested by Chris Boddington after he saw a Gordon Frickers original sketch in 2009.

The original sketch that inspired this marine painting was drawn one evening in 1998 in the lounge of the Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club where incidentally there are two fine original examples of Gordon Frickers marine art in that lounge commissioned by and owned by the club.

The original sketch was exploring ideas for a scene during the voyage of the French explorer, navigator and discoverer, Laperouse.

In particular his visit to Botany Bay, Australia, a subject I am soon to return to having recently completed much extensive research and become a member last year of L’Association Laperouse, which is based on Laperouse home town of Albi in S W France…

There is a selection of books we can highly recommend because

A. they feature Gordon Frickers marine painting and

B. they are excellent book (not that we are biased, much), see page

http://www.frickers.co.uk/marine-art/trafalgar.html

The books can be ordered via that page from Amazon.

The original of Trafalgar Dawn was sold about 15 years ago to a private collection however the owner has indicated he is now open to offers.

Offers can be made via Mr. 10% on this web site!

More affordable, Trafalgar Dawn is available as a superb quality numbered, signed, Prestige edition on printed canvas, from page
http://www.frickers.co.uk/prints.html
where it can be ordered 100%  securely using Paypal or by a direct bank to bank transfer.

The new Trafalgar Dawn is in an advanced stage of research and pre sketching following visits to research at Portsmouth and in Paris last December (as mentioned in this blog, early December).
As for

Nelson at Gibraltar, you can follow the development of this painting on this blog.

The painting has evolved from a drawing Gordon Frickers  made one evening in 1998 while in the member’s lounge of the Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club.

Gordon was a very active member of the Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club for many years and the club has 2 magnificent marine paintings of his in it’s collection.

One features the Royal Yacht Britannia HRH Queen Elizabeth disembarking, to visit Plymouth, the other shows a typical Spring Series race of the period and is very rich in details.

That original sketch was intended as an idea for a painting of the French navigator and discoverer Laperouse entering Botany Bay.

The Laperouse painting is an other currently under development after a long interval.

Gordon was researching for the Laperouse painting and Nelson at Gibraltar last November at H.M. Hydrographic Office, Taunton,  and another reason he was in Paris and at the Muse de Laperouse, Albi (Laperouse home town).

A friend of his, Chris Boddington former very successful lawyer and a skilled painter in his own right, saw the sketch last summer and suggested it would work well as a painting of Nelson transferring from HMS Captain to HMS Minerve at Gibraltar so guess what?

Since the attached pic was taken, the composition and colouring have advanced significantly.

There will be a new blog entry on this painting of Nelson and Gibraltar  in the next few days.

~

Also currently for re sale, given an offer they can’t refuse,  by clients of Gordon Frickers are the following Marine Paintings, several quite famous,  (by the way we should mention, prices often with paintings are the reverse of most cars so re sale prices are likely to be considerably more than the vendors paid or the current price of new paintings direct from the artist):

“H.M. Schooner “Pickle”, carrying the news of the Battle of Trafalgar”

“Nelson’s Column”

“Trafalgar Dawn”

“First Shots, Trafalgar”

“Nelson’s Pickle, first with the news”

“Ferriera” ex “Cutty Sark”, “Last Departure” (mentioned on this blog, 27.01.10)

~

Another  email was an invitation to go on a Dutch gallery web site ( for a fee).
The site seems to feature mostly Russian artists, some quite good.
It has no marine artist.
It did have an interesting link to a gallery in California, that set Gordon thinking…
He does not  have a list of galleries which might be worth approaching, should he have one?
Can you recommend any galleries?

I have some ideas to sketch re the possible marine commission I mentioned yesterday, but first, Admiral Nelson and super yachts. 

I have several marine paintings in advance planning at present and several being sketched out including this one intended to be of a big superyacht (motor), with other yachts at dusk in Porto Fino but which yachts?

Want to nominate suitable superyachts?

I have in mind the famous Maltese Falcon for the big 3 master.

I briefly saw Maltese Falcon in Antibes, literally in, not sailing, but…

Several journalists at the Monaco Yacht Show including Alan Warren and Colin Squire suggested I should paint Maltese Falcon as one of my collection for the European Parliament Exhibition in 2010.

I intend to show Maltese Falcon in the back ground partly because while at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Paris (blog entry 10th Dec 09, I had the good fortune to meet Julie Clark of Savage Marine Ltd.

Julie’s company “did the lighting” for the superyacht Maltese Falcon and has kindly offered to lend me the book produced when the Maltese Falcon was built (www.savagelighting.com).

Julie has also, recognising a good PR opportunity when she hears of one,  offered to light my forthcoming exhibition at the European Parliament next year.

I have not yet settled on which motor yacht for the for ground, which yacht?

I have all I need on the 3250 ton Sarafsa.

She is the right size and new last year from Devonport Royal Dockyard (Babcock Marine), I painted her leaving Plymouth for DRD but…

She is owned by a super seriously rich Arab prince, an unapproachable person so no fun as far as I am concerned.

I’d like to choose a big vessel, 5 decks, used for charter,  and show her fully lit, with the water toys coming home at dusk for an evening’s relaxation.

Any nominations?

~

Nelson? I drew a sketch years ago while thinking of the voyage of Laperouse.

A friend recently saw the sketch and suggested it could become Nelson at Gibralter moving from HMS Captain to the frigate HMS Minerve to undertake a “delicate mission”.

So…