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The art of Michael Lees
Painting in action - the Hobah off Clovelly

Then comes the blocked in shape of the hull of the Hobah and I start to put in the deck house and the bowsprit

I gradually darken the colour of the hull and start to include the dinghy alongside

Now the detail of the Hobah starts to develop as the spars go in and her slightly bent topmast appear! I am now ready for the sea with a light background colour, then darkened to the colour of the sea

The sea, whose colour is a reflection of the sky and also contains the colour of the bottom and the depth of water below, starts being filled in. At the same time I work on the detail of the ship; you can now clearly see her bent topmast and the mate climbing aboard.

The detail of the Hobah grows as I put in the rigging, the detail of the hull and deckhouse and a slight plume of smoke from the galley

Finally the Hobah lies off Clovelly The ketch is the Hobah, an Appledore vessel, she always can be recognised by the artistically bent topmast. They have lit the galley fire to put a kettle on and the mate has rowed back from the village post office in Clovelly with a dozen eggs for breakfast. The morning breeze is just picking up, so within the hour there should be sufficient wind to hoist the sails and get underway. slide show