RRS Discovery
The ship Discovery was built in Dundee, for Antarctic research. Launched in 1901, she was the last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in the United Kingdom.
Placed in a custom-built dock in 1992, Discovery is now the centrepiece of Dundee's visitor attraction 'Discovery Point'.
This painting was for somebody who volunteers on the ship. I chose a calm Antarctic scene with Discovery sailing slowly past an iceberg.
The atmosphere I was aiming for was peace and tranquility.
Before starting, I studied other Antarctic paintings to see how they handled ice.
As the foreground is a long straight line, I considered adding a couple of penguins standing on the ice floe, looking at the ship, but then decided to leave them out.
I added as much colour as I thought I could get away with into the iceberg to give it depth and shadow. Blue and warm tones in the shadows and yellow highlights for the light coming in from the right. I also tried to loosen up the brushwork to make it more impressionistic.
As the foreground is a long straight line, I considered adding a couple of penguins standing on the ice floe, looking at the ship, but then decided to leave them out.
I added as much colour as I thought I could get away with into the iceberg to give it depth and shadow. Blue and warm tones in the shadows and yellow highlights for the light coming in from the right. I also tried to loosen up the brushwork to make it more impressionistic.
