to the lonely sea and the sky - The Dispatch

Finally completed my stamp collage of the Dispatch, a two masted schooner which has ended her days on the banks of the River Severn, at Purton Ships' Graveyard. Built in Scotland in 1888, this beautiful old ship had a long history of voyages as far as Newfoundland for cod fishing, before being beached in 1961. Not much remains now as the ship has been burnt, vandalised and pilfered over the years but is now protected by the association formed to conserve the remains of the ships at Purton.

This framed picture will be exhibited at The Old Passage Inn at Arlingham in May 2012 as part of the Walking the Land Exhibition. Prints and cards will also be available from my studio which is detailed in the Site 12 Open Studios brochure Route 04 and will also shortly be on line.

" to the lonely sea and the sky" seemed an appropriate title for this tall ship, the quotation taken from John Masefield's poem, Sea Fever.

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by".

Beautifully framed prints of my stamp collage ships

I recently had an order for these three prints to be framed with the relevant verses of the poem Cargoes by John Masefield incorporated in each mount. The three ships are the Quinquireme of Nineveh, the Stately Spanish Galleon and the Dirty British Coaster. Lesley Young has done an excellent job with the framing! These stamp collage prints and cards continue to be very popular and are travelling far and wide. One has gone to the vast harbour of Singapore, others to Manchester docks! They can also currently be seen in Beechwood Shopping centre in the Artshape Artshop, open until 24th Decemeber from Tuesday to Saturday each week.