http://frickers.co.uk/marine-art/dispute_settled.html, one copy of each sold via the web site so a busy day today preparing them.

This was the first copy of “Trafalgar Dawn the French Perspective” to be sold and very appropriately to the person who gave me the most encouragement to paint this awesome scene.

“Rhoda Mary and Katie Cluett, a dispute settled” will be going to a descendant of one of the captains of the elegant schooner Katie Cluett.

Much of the story of there 2 beautiful schooners, reputedly the fastest of their breed,  can be found in our Marine Gallery, merchant sail.

on the further reading page Trafalgar Dawn the French Perspective” is the opposite view to the now quite famous “Trafalgar Dawn” which I painted while the only artist ever to work officially for HMS Victory.

See: http://frickers.co.uk/marine-art/trafalgar_dawn.html

Print No 1 is going framed to KP  an officer in the Royal Navy whom I first got to know in 2005.

He asked me to supply a framed copy of “I have urgent dispatches” complete with the rather spendid Seahawk mess Trafalgar night dinner menu.

http://frickers.co.uk/marine-art/urgent_dispatches.html .

This for the officers mess, HMS Seahawk, Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, for the Admirals to present to Princess Anne, the Princess Royal.

This was in appreciation of her role supporting the 2005 Trafalgar commemoration and re enactment of the Trafalgar News reaching London via HMS Pickle and from Falmouth by coach to the Admiralty in London.

By great good fortune we were able to give the Princess Royal copy number one thus it is all the more appropriate that KP has copy No 1 of “Trafalgar Dawn the French Perspective”.

KP has been a good friend ever since including organising an exhibition at RNAS Culdrose from which we sold some 30 prints.

KP is very enthusiastic about ‘The Art of Gordon Frickers‘ saying “good marine military pictures are hard to get” and has frequently been so kind as to recommend my work to his colleagues.

He has also given me much encouragement and some of the drive needed to produce this awesome historical piece which ia about as close as we will ever get to seeing the event through French eyes on that fateful morning, Monday the 21t of October 1805 seen hear at approximately 06.20.

I pleasing touch on the margin of the pictures is a printed remaque from one of my working drawings showing the British fleet and naming each individual ship.

Thus if you are a descendant of a Trafalgar man you will be able to find your ancestor’s ship.

The positioning of the ships is as accurate as anyone is likely to get, the result of years of research and included correcting the official accounts!

All the accounts of the officers of the combined fleet agree the British fleet of Nelson was not in regular order.

My research confirms this hence the distribution and distance off of the British Fleet of Nelson.

In fact Nelson’s ships were in very roughly 4 columns.

I used numerous sources and many sketches to establish the facts as best possible, maybe some day I should write the story of how it was done more fully?

Thus we are among the first to see again the British fleet at first light on a day when they changed world history.

A day that was not the end of the Emperor Napoleon but the beginning of the end of Napoleon.

The battle of Trafalgar, an event which changed world history and Napoleon Bonaparte said did not happen also saw the heroic death of the British hero Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson.

Appropriately here is the battle of Trafalgar at approximately 06.20 as viewed from the French flagship; a painting in progress.

I’ll tell more soon mean while you are among the very first to witness a sight unseen since eye witness times.

Subject of a long detective story the ground breaking research has finally produced as accurate an impression of the scene as we are ever likely to see…

This unusual painting is designed to be the pair for “Trafalgar dawn”,

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

and like Trafalgar Dawn will be available soon as a Heritage numbered signed collectors edition.

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?“

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?

G. I have sent you my first draft of my explication for my new (landscape painting) works.

I would welcome your thoughts and comments. Regards, D 

Jan 18th 2010

Fragments: A short introduction

Upon reflecting Kandinsky’s statement on duality: where the ‘art[s] is the child of its time’; and ‘mother of our emotions’.

I have come to realize the statement offers a challenge for the ’serious’ artist to wage war against the ‘beast of banality’, the ’still-borne’ ossifications created by their contemporaries.

Progression or ‘going beyond’ in art is a fundamental necessity for every serious artist’s to consider: firstly, their reasons for creating a specific artwork and how it should be rendered; and secondly, how
will their artwork be received and perceived by the individual and broader community.

It is this desire to ‘going beyond’ as a serious artist which has given birth to my interest in the concept of ‘Fragments’.

With a linear understanding, the term Fragments are by their very existence dualistic and is either: holism – where the individual parts cannot be fully understood without reference to the whole; or atomism – their separate parts are interpretable and complete in themselves.

To transcend the ordinary (objective or subjective modes) and exploring Fragments multi-dimensionality enables me the freedom to reconsider an exogenous propositions – an alternative stance where society presents ‘what’ or ‘how’ the viewer should interpret the artwork.

In this respect I have become increasing interested in the controlling aspect of the image, either by the artist or societal agencies.

The inference of the societal agencies (government or media) serves the community through editing, faking or distorting the image, which inevitably leaves the viewer with an incomplete truth and the inability to reason upon a ‘lived experience’ as regulated and imposed by others.

There are several of these faculties: external and inner sense, imagination, understanding and reason.

The implications of this might be the speculative ‘infilling’ of subjective reasoning, which Rimbaud called ‘a disorder of all the senses’.
In this respect, the individuals’ voracious gluttony ‘consumes’ all that they are ‘fed’ by a proliferation of external societal agencies.

To attain ‘true’ freedom of thought the individual must disengage from the accepted convention of image promotion.

References

1. Kandinsky, W., Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Wittenborn Art Books,
Inc., New York, 1976. P23

2. Deleuze, G., (Trans., Tomlinson, H., & Habberjam, B.,) Kant’s Critical
Philosophy: The Doctrine of the Faculties, University of Minnesota Press,
Minneapolis. 2005 p. xi.

~

Interesting first draft?

My reaction is:

Maybe we could discuss this sort of thing more often and more deeply???

You have asked for my reactions so here are a few of many which I hope will help.
Over all I like very much the direction and flow of where you go, here.
I don’t doubt this sort of discourse would appeal to many influential intellectuals in Universities and big name galleries, good PR for you, maybe leading to them adopting you.

As a practical artist I have a dread of “college professors”.
My experience is for example,  that while practical seamen were reporting 100 + foot waves the “professors” were saying that was impossible.
Recent satellite technology has revealed 100 + foot waves are not uncommon…
As a youth I was told, dinosaurs were slow and stupid, animals could not “speak” to each other, ours was the only solar system and much more of that sort.
I did not believe it then and I still don’t.
Seems to me, “Science”, the “professors”, the Popes etc, have caught up with what a child / adolescent perceived to be true.

What does this teach us?

I agree the term “Artist” should not be applied to hobby painters, people who paint pleasant scenes for tourists and wall decore, people who paint for reputation and other trivial reasons.
I’d rather think of that sort of endeavor as of artisans not artists.
That is not to say I do or don’t “approve” of such work.
On the contrary, it often has much merit, certainly does not need my approval or disapproval, as with all art and artisan work, it just is and one of the tests of real “Art” is how is it received in the community, another is does it endure?

I think the bottom line is when we paint, much of the time it is not for us to overly concern ourselves with that question, “a challenge for the ’serious’ artist to wage war against the ‘beast of banality’, the ’still-borne’ ossifications created by their contemporaries”.

“…where society presents ‘what’ or ‘how’ the viewer should interpret the artwork”.
I find this very unfortunate.
However I recognize we are all ignorant in varying degrees and it is inevitable given the pressures people inherit and put upon them selves in our modern world, that most people exist on disinformation,  half truths and “sound bite information”, we have to much of our time.
Inevitable and we can’t change it for many reasons not least of which it is deeply embedded in most people as the habits of comparing their experiences and reacting strongly to novelties.
This in turn a close neighbour to narrow minded of prejudice added to which very few people take time to think problems through and consider likely consequences.

My current view is an Artist is some one who is for what ever reason is in pursuit of and some times produces influential, some times  startling and original work, most often does not.

Great Art endures, trivual and novel art may make a fortune but does not endure, right or wrong?

A healthy mental attitude follows this train of thought.
Rather that over intellectualize and attempt more than we can fore fill; which usually leads to “writers block”, we do some thing that is “good enough”.

To put it another way, to be committed to the work and do our best at that moment is enough and all.
Leave great Art to history, “to thine own self be true”, as best we can which includes the option of being very involved with contemporized happenings as JMW Turner was with political issues and Kandinsky the art of his day.
To try to do well what we do is in its self a HUGE challenge and curiously often leads to what eventually is recognized as “great Art”.
I see producing great art as a bonus not a goal.
I have been very fortunate in that a few of my paintings have received wide recognition, “Roaring Forties” (of a young Sir Robin Knox-Johnston), “I have urgent dispatches” (HMS Pickle with the news of Trafalgar) ,”Waterwitch off Gribben Head“.

Much of the credit is due to the Internet reaching a wider audience or rather a wider audience discovering my art work on my web site via the Internet, also to the many journals, magazines and newspapers which have featured my work and activities in particular my marine painting.

Maybe those pictures are famous?

Certainly I can say, they will endure long after we are gone for various reasons.

Some of my best known pictures have surprised me not being the pictures I guessed might achieve renown.

In that sense I painted them partly because as my son would put it, “it needed to be done” so in that sense you may agree they are art in the classic Art for Art’s sake mould?

I see this as a bonus while I struggle to produce interesting Art for the people around me, in a vast Universe I can never fully understand.

My some times amazing landscapes wait to be discovered.

This is partly a fault of mine.

I don’t promote them.

Indeed, many of the most recent and best are not even on my web site so only the occasional personal visitors get to see them.

That fame may yet happen for these landscapes, as interest is being shown in promoting them by a director/ownwer of a chain of New York/London based advertising agencies.

Artists as with artisans, must pay their bills and live so I have no problem with work created knowing it will sell.
I dom have a problem with artists who paint bizarre pictures which seem to me self indulgence and in the meantime sponge off others.

I appreciate some times very personnal expresions can be very worth while  and that one must shift a lot of rock n mud to find a little gold.

All of the illustrious artists in history who I recall tried to do that but the great majority had an eye on what might sell and thus pay their bills.

I think the starving artist struggling to be “special” is not noble, rather an illusion, irresponsible and an idiot, largely a victim, sold a dream created by Art schools, media and art critics, another form of insincere bullshit.
The success rate from following this route is what?

One in 10 million?

You may notice I don’t include galleries ?
This because the vast majority of galleries know an artist must have financial as well as ethical merit.
Some of course are very reluctant to admit this for their own devious “political” and PR reasons, the various Tate Galleries being an example, but they use the principal all the time…

I am also acutely aware, while we revere Kandinsky and many of the other artists from the past, known and unknown, our human society, world, has changed more in the past 30 years than at any time in our history.

What does this mean to today’s artists and Artists?

Seems to me it means much (not all) of what they did and thought is out of touch, out of date, barely relevant to our experience of today and tomorrow so choose carefully what rather than who you emulate and the torch you pick up.

I am very wary of the relevance of historical artists, theirs was another time, another place.
As a 21st century man I only partly agree with Kandinsky’s statement on duality: ‘art[s] is the child of its time’; and ‘mother of our emotions’.
I agree enough to see the statement as a torch he has had to lay down when he died and is maybe worth you picking up and running with.
Are we dream weavers, poets in paint, story tellers?
What strikes me as truly wondrous about poetry, writing, painting and to a lesser extent, photography (still and motion) is it can go anywhere we can imagine and beyond.
This is also strikes me as a daunting obligation.
Do you  think we have a duty (an out of fashion word?) to carry on with the best ideas and work our predecessors produced if it is relevant in tomorrow’s world?

Thus I find the whole subject a contradiction. I chose to be mostly practical and not worry about it, ditto having a “style”.

I think both can be huge assets but also false friends.

~

I was asked very recently by a radio interviewer, if I could have one luxury what would I choose?

What would YOU choose?

It took me a while to find an answer (so I changed the subject and came back to it later in the conversation!)  that I felt said what I meant and meant what I said.

My eventual answer was not to have to worry about my bills, to be able to paint freely in a manner true to myself and destiny.

Time flows swiftly, an artist’s lack of recognition is frustrating, time may well run in more directions than forward but as yet I’ve not see time run any way but forward.

Time to paint, back to the studio, a very cold night here, beautiful full moon and stars have now turned to excellent light for painting.

Painting what?

What we can and a bit of what we must?

Cheers mate,

Gordon

I am planning a new piece of marine art, the opposite view.

Today was very 21st century though.

I have had today 3 enquiries about my marine painting which may be of interest and found myself yet again busy with Trafalgar and Admiral Nelson issues. 

In particular “I have urgent dispatches“, my marine painting about communication, news and the battle of Trafalgar, of HM Schooner Pickle has attracted more attention (available in print from page http://www.frickers.co.uk/prints.html).  This Pickle painting was produced after a vast amount of research while I was working on a project for HMS Victory. My interest in Pickle continues to this day and I plan to meet one of the decendants of her Trafalgar Commander in about 2 weeks time.

Maybe we will meet on Pickle Night, the 4th of November? You don’t know about Pickle Night?

A detail of HMS Pickle is shown above.

A memorable day and some fun here today but only partly thanks to HMS Pickle.

Most days pass quietly enough, this 21st of October has not been one of them.

By co incidence I met recently in of all places (medieval) Castelnau de Montmiral a New York based art director, owner of a chain of very successful advertising agencies, who saw via a friend, my new brochure (you can have a coy free from my home page).

He asked to see some originals (so we had dinner at my cottage at Itzac) and would now like to see my work shown in New York.

I was very intrigued by his suggestion to show my extraordinary French landscape art works in New York.
Who knows, maybe we can tie it in with Pickle Night next year at the New York Yacht Club?
I’d love to visit New York city.
How to pay for this though???

Unlike my marine art, with the French landscape art, I turn off my “learned” colour vision and paint the colours I uniquely see with my natural very odd colour vision.

I’d be up for that expo, could be a lot of fun.

I’d be more than interested to know if it is really possible, is it?

To date the main things stopping me have been funding and knowing the right places and people.

Today an email bought an enquiry for a  possible yacht portrait of a modern racing yacht which is making quite a reputation, a  Class 40, “Cutlass“, owned by a member of the NYYC,  Alex Mehran Jr who wrote generously about my work.

I love painting modern subjects so hope this enquiry turns into a great painting.

Another surprise this Trafalgar Day came from the team producing a new series for BBC TV who specialize in making High End Factual documentaries, in this case ‘The Boats that Built Britain’, voice overs by Tom Cunliffe, to be shown in the Spring of 2010.
Apparently I have become a leading expert on HM Schooner Pickle and they wish to interview me as part of a program; could be fun.
Doubt I’ll be paid, could be good PR though.

As if that was not enough for one day, I had a call  from the editor of Sea Breezes.

He would like an article on my super yacht experiences this year on the cote d’azur based around the Monaco Yacht Show 2009 and my June tour de cote d’azur but looking forward into 2010…

Wishing you all a memorable Trafalgar Day and many more to follow.

Bob has just emailed me to confirm this, the case size and price. If interested in this rare chance to obtain a fine ship model of Victory in her Trafalgar 1805 condition, contact this web site or phone Bob Pearce. Bob wrote; ” Michael Ellis has just handed to me your e-mail that you sent to him, regarding my model of H.M.S. Victory. It is still for sale. Just to remind you of the size of the display case that the model is in. It measures 1330mm long, 1075mm high, and 490mm wide.

                          Thank you for your interest in this.
                           My asking price is £1,200.
                           If you or your contacts wish to phone me about the model, the best time to phone would be in the evening. My home number is 0208 580 4843.

                           I look forward to hearing from you,
                                                                            best wishes, Bob Pearce“.

We hope you find the following interesting, engaging, interactive, and will forward this to friends.

If we can be of further assistance, don’t hesitate to e mail info@frickers.co.uk or phone to ask.

1. In brief
2. New phone
3. I’ve moved house
4. A superb new Marine Print:
5. New on the web site
6. Blog
7. Marine paintings
8. New paintings
9. Super yachts
10. Monaco Yacht Show September 23 to 26?
11. Wotsitworth? ? ?
12. Next please
13. Sea Fever
14. Research
15. Special thank you

Welcome
Your news is always welcome; now here is a little light reading for the summer break, enjoy.

Gordon at Antibes, cote d’azur 

I made an 11 day tour to look over the super yacht industry including producing 2 paintings of harbours.

En route to Cannes I had the excellent luck to meet and have dinner with the renowned French artist Dominique Rembauville who recommended I base myself in Antibes.

This turned out to be an excellent suggestion.

The only down side is I can’t read her email address so she can’t recieve this and another excellent photo I took of her…

Can you help Dominique Rembauville contact me ?

2009 started with my first experience of a long illness, included bronchial pneumonia, leading to a visit to the Hospital at Albi. On the plus side most of the nurses are gorgeous on the minus side I did not get much work done for 5 months so could not afford one!

Having had to ease off, advertising has become necessary.

By the way, we accept payments for paintings in stages and offer a guarantee unsurpassed on the Internet despite.

Anyway following a reconnaissance of the Cote d’Azur, I am fighting fit now so watch out!

That said, my first advert in 18 years has gone into the very glossy magazine
Our new advert, a collector’s item, is bright, clear, punchie and has a great painting.

The ad reads:

Prince Philip winning at Cowes Week by Gordon Frickers.

Exclusive, professional, the best of British Marine Art

A highly experienced marine artist Gordon Frickers has many famous paintings to his credit.

“Our efforts with the painting were highly successful” Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.

“Many thanks for producing a truly beautiful painting” ~ Devonport Royal
Dockyard.

For memorable fine art of enduring worth contact or better, meet Gordon Frickers.

Like a free copy of this picture?
Email me if you would.

Superyacht Business, The Best of British is British Marine Federation glossy mag given away at all the major yacht Shows, Monte Carlo at Monaco, Fort Lauderdale etc so will show my marine painting to a whole new network of specialists.
The ad has already produced enquiries for marine paintings and at the very least will help make my name familiar as a marine artist, The future of super yachts, (or is it superyachts?)  looks healthy so the questions are, will the super yacht world realise it can benefit from  Gordon Frickers  are these people are ready for first class  marine art?

By the way, is it super yacht or is it superyacht?

As the advert comments,
“Recent clients included super yacht builders, super yacht owners, the Ministry of Defence and the government of Oman so for memorable paintings and prints of enduring worth contact or better, meet Gordon Frickers”

New phone numbers,

I have change to “Three” from Vodafone, half the price for calls including in Europe and better service.
My mobile is now +44 (0) 7588 411 720

I’ve moved house

From the enchanting Castelnau de Montmiral to beautiful Itzac.  

My Plymouth address remains unchanged, the current addresses are on

http://www.frickers.co.uk/contact.html
My email addresses are unchanged, gordon@frickers.co.uk is reliable.

A superb new Marine Print

http://www.frickers.co.uk/marine-art/formidable_seafires.html
We were talked into publishing this picture by Euro MP Brian Simson whose father served on the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable.

Brian has kindly asked if I am interested in an exhibition at the European Parliament — do fish swim, is the Pope Catholic?
See superb marine prints in our Print Gallery, purchase securely using Paypal or phone Gordon Frickers Fine Art, 01865 52 2435

New on the web site

We are making many improvements to www.frickers.co.uk. The aims include, more user friendly and sociable, easier to leave messages on, to contact us and to buy from.

Changes include a “very useful pages” section on the navigation page and a very unusual CV/résumé http://www.frickers.co.uk/about.html
We are also updating the SEO terms and making other behind the scenes upgrades.

Responding to friendly advice the site is becoming much more focused, on marine art.
None of the other pages have been deleted, rather moved to an “archive” accessible via the Navigation page so the emphasis is going increasingly onto the best and newest works.
We reason, if you see a book on a famous painter, you only see his “best” work, so we too can play that game, makes sense?

Blog

Much improved; you can help by keeping an eye on it and better, leaving comments.
Your comments on the blog really help us with feed back and SOE -search engine optimization, thank you.

Marine paintings

have been given the 2009 look.
Including THE study of Prince Philip winning at Cowes (featured on the new advert) and the Ben Ainslie an action portrait, Sydney Olympic Games which now looks magic and has attracted the attention for marketing of the London Olympic Organising Committee 2012

New paintings

Include a study of the famous “Flying Scotsman”, with Pullman coaches, in a very distinctive location.
Recognise the place???

You can better see the painting on my blog: http://www.frickers.co.uk/blog/ dated 06.06.09

Super yachts

– Potential new market? The 11 day reconnaissance of the Cote d’azur, amazing!

See the web stories under Cote d’azur!
I came away convinced superyachts are ready for the Art of Gordon Frickers; but only just; it will be a difficult market.
In the past year I have had the good fortune to paint a series of superyachts to commission.
I am encouraged by the UKTI Scheme and Superyacht UK to paint more…
The problem seems to be finding people in the industry who appreciate what fine art can do for them and their business.

Know of any leads?

I lead sent by a friend is better than advertising.

I willing pay the full industry rate of commission for your introducing a commission.

Monaco Yacht Show September 23 to 26

Based at legendary Monte Carlo, many consider this THE boat show of the year.
It is grandly titled the 19th Monaco Yacht Show – 2009 and includes the Red Arrows, evening of the 24th.

So, what are you doing this September?

Would you like to keep me company, share the adventure? You could, contact us!

I will be looking to gracefully meet professional people in the Superyacht world. I’ll be staying near Nice.
http://www.monacoyachtshow.com/index.shtml

Wotsitworth? ? ?

From time to time I am asked the question, what is my painting worth?
Recently these 2 paintings,
The New Westminster City, a merchant ship sunk while in convoy PQ13 and my client, former apprentice Mills under attack, painted about 1988.

Mr Mills said he really did fire his guns in anger at the Junkers Ju88’s but was much to excited to aim well.

He added cheerfully, 3 days later we were sunk and I lost a leg. View page http://www.frickers.co.uk/marine-art/pq_13_new_westminster_city.html
Sadly Mr Mills, my client has died and the new owner of the painting asked the question, how much?
A tea clipper study and a fine one too, “Fiery Cross” similar tale, painted about 1984, Wotsitworth ? what are they worth at auction?

The battle of Trafalgar – Most of the Trafalgar collection has become available, the originals that is, currently in a bank vault in central London – what are they worth at auction?

We know some of our prints have been changing hands for £500 +

Can you tell me what these paintings are worth?

Next please

It seems I have to concentrate on Marine art, as you know, not a great hardship for me!
I have and continue to produce some remarkable landscapes exploiting my unconventional colour vision including recently my largest landscape to date measuring 40” x 30”.
While it is entirely possible that one day the landscapes will be worth more than my marine painting, I’ve not yet found a satisfactory outlet for these often remarkable landscape paintings which sell steadily in the £350 to 2,000 price bracket.

Thus my way ahead must be focused on commercial shipping and Superyachts.

I have had several offers of exhibitions but remain choosy.
Why?
Because it is easy to get an exhibition, but expensive and they eat time. Thus unless it is likely to be a financial success why show?
Currently we are looking at offers from what I am told (well they would say that wouldn’t they) the best galleries in Toulouse and Lille.

That said serious offers are very welcome so please pass them on!

Sea Fever

Having moved from Castelnau de Montmiral, a few kilometres down the road to fair Itzac (about an hour’s drive East from Toulouse) I can confirm, Itzac is good, lots of sunshine, wonderful light for painting.
At Itzac I am renting a charming cottage. Chris and Ruth Boddington have shown me much kindness, Lizzie and George (Bod’s cats), much affection. I try to be a good guest / tenant.

There are problems though; which include, typical of minor French villages, poor internet and phone connections, a lack of studio space, remoteness and other issues, the list goes on but I won’t!
Thus I don’t intend to stay at Itzac indefinitely.

If you know of any ways to improve wifi down load speeds PLEASE speak up!!!
More serious, I have a bad case of sea fever…

Ideally, I’d look at apartments any where between La Rochelle and Brest but anywhere from South Cornwall to the Cote d’azur would be ok!

It has also been suggested, I write to some society magazines. The Lady has been mentioned.
First prob, find the right publications, do you have any suggestions ???

Maybe you know some one with a spare house needing the ultimate accessory, an Artist in Residence, a sort of guest.
Montague Dawson, had a deal like that, for one good painting per year (A Dawson marine painting now sell for £50 to 100 thousand)

What solution? Ideas please?

Research

You may like to know I am preparing new marine paintings of the “Samuel Plimsoll” loading emigrants at the Cattewater, Plymouth by moonlight.
This will be a large painting.

I have a copy of the Spurling painting of her and am looking for other pictures / plans etc.

I already have most of what I need of the Cattewater (you may recall, it is place very familiar to me), its quay’s and piers, the moorings etc and much info on the old emigrant centre, supplied by Plymouth Naval Reference Library. They in turn wish this painting to be the centre piece of an exhibition of my work in Plymouth.

Other new paintings will include an example of a superyacht, suitable for exhibition display, maybe at Porto Fino at dusk, but which superyacht?
I’m looking for pictures of HM Submarine Unique and her sisters, can you help?

A painting of the great and tragic French marine explorer Laperouse at Botany Bay still needs good photos of Botany Bay, taken from sea ward, and better pictures of the 11 ships of the First Fleet.

Most recently, a friend in New York has been asking about paintings of the new USS New York (bow made from steel recycled from the World Trade Centre), and the coming anniversary of the war of 1812, a big event in the USA.

I wonder what the Canadians will make of this anniversary of the U.S trying to take over their country?
Also for 2012, just maybe the London Olympics; the organising committee are interested in marketing my work with Ben Ainslie and maybe similar new paintings.
If we can be of further assistance, don’t hesitate to e mail  info@frickers.co.uk or phone to ask.

~ ~ ~

My sincere thanks to all of you who take an interest in my art, you furthering the arts and are all helping my career.
My appreciation in particular those who send leads, commissions and pay the ultimate compliment, by saying those magic words  “I’ll buy it”!

Robin Knox- Johnston said to me, “Gordon like my work, you have no choice, it’s not a job it’s a calling”,

Wishing you happiness, good health and prosperity, and hoping we meet again soon,

Gordon Frickers, marine artist, Itzac, august 2009.

We hope this newsletter has been a pleasure for you and you will pass it on, your comments, contributions and plain old keeping in touch will be very welcome.

This would be a new project relating to work we have been doing with Plymouth University, Plymouth Maritime etc on issues such as climate change and sustainability. The angle I will be considering is how capitalism has and is driving this… More in later blogs… If you have theories, thesis etc on these issues and are interested in working with a painter in his prime, maybe we should talk?

Think about getting in touch?