The Frigate Dom Fernando II E Gloria - Stamp collage inspired by a visit to Lisbon Maritime Museum

I went through a rather unproductive phase, in terms of actually making new work over the latter part 2017. But Spring has brought with it new energy, and ideas stored up over some years are now emerging in the form of new collages, including this one of the Frigate Dom Fernando II e Gloria. 

In November 2014, we made our first visit to Lisbon, and my love of ships as a subject for pictures  took us to the Maritime Museum in the Belem area, home also to the Monument of the Discoveries mentioned in a previous blog of  October 2016.The  museum houses a vast collection of  paintings and models of ships including this one of the Dom Fernando II e Gloria.

The museum also owns several paintings  including one by Roger Chapelet showing her in full sail, which has been useful in the making of my own stamp collage picture, featured here.
Stamps and  envelopes have been incorporated in this collage with the sky painted in watercolour and the rigging ink and pencil. As always, finding a crew was an interesting  challenge!This fully rigged  ship  built of teak in India in 1843 was the last frigate of the navy.  On her maiden voyage from Goa to Lisbon in 1845 she was armed with 18 guns.  She was used for transporting cargo, troops, passengers and "deportees to Angola and Mozambique". She was also used as a Naval artillery school and school of seamanship from 1865 until 1937.  She was partially destroyed by a fire in 1963 when she was the HQ of a children's home. In 1990 rebuilding commenced, to be  completed in 1998, and she can now be visited near Aveiro.  I hope to be able to do this one day!

 I discovered that the Dom Fernando II e Gloria  also features on Portuguese stamps issued in 1997.

John Piper - Liverpool Metropolitan cathedral, art and stamps - Inspiring!

A few years ago I  enjoyed the exhibition "John Piper in the 1930s - Abstraction on the Beach" at Dulwich Picture Gallery, so I  was pleased to find another exhibition of his work this year at Tate Liverpool, featuring collages, and other mixed media artworks. This was one of the highlights of our recent stay in this wonderful city, and a film about Piper's and  Rutyens' designs  for  stained glass for the Catholic cathedral, prompted us to revisit this awe inspiring  building!

In my own work using stamps in collages I have become familiar with subjects of stamps and noted that one of John Piper's paintings from 1940 also appeared  on a British stamp issued in 1968,

the church of St Mary Le  Port, Bristol  badly bombed in WW2.

The Metropolitan Cathedral was also the subject of a stamp as part of the British Cathedrals series of 1969, with a value of 1/6d.  Pre-Decimal Currency. 

John Piper used all sorts of materials in his work, including matchbox labels, paper doilies, string, wallpaper, but as far as I know, never postage stamps.  Visiting Liverpool and having seen this latest exhibition, some of the small craft moored in the Albert Dock also seemed  reminiscent of vessels featured in some of his work.  My own ship themed collages completed since seeing this exhibition, now also incorporate a few new materials, such as cotton and scrim for the rigging and additional painted elements.Matchbox labels? Not yet, but see my Ships page of www.rachelmarkwick.co.uk for latest collages. Thank you John Piper for the inspiration!