The print of The Ship Anson pub in Portsmouth is 48cm x 30cm giclee print not including the white boarder surround.
About The Ship Anson pub in Portsmouth
I often get sent all over the place to do my commissions and I have found it near impossible to guess where I may be working next. Again, I never would have guessed that it would be Portsmouth in the South of England. I say this as Portsmouth is my home town, I was born there and I spent the first 23 years of my life, prior to the day, when London dragged me up the A3 for an additional 23.
I set off buoyed by the thought of a bit of home cooking and that I didn’t have to wander around with a map to track down the location.
The commission was to paint The Ship Anson pub on the harbour that sits just in front of the main dockyard gates, which makes it a very popular watering hole with the Royal Navy. At first glance, it looks like two pubs, in fact it may well have been two at one time, however, I have only ever known it as one. I could find nothing about the history of these structures, although I would say that the one on the left is Georgian and the one on the right is late Victorian. They loved a bit of mock Tudor.
The HMS Anson
I did, however, find something on HMS Anson which the pub was named after. The Anson was built in 1781 to fight in the French Revolutionary wars although her first action was at the Battle of the Saintes in The American Revolutionary Wars on the 9th April 1782. After surviving that action, she then entered the Napoleonic war proper, and fought a number of battles over the years, and in between times, she chased down Privateers.
Her luck finally ran out in the winter of 1807 when she was wrecked just outside Loo in Cornwall.
The print of The Ship Anson pub in Portsmouth is 48cm x 30cm giclee print not including the white boarder surround.
About The Ship Anson pub in Portsmouth
I often get sent all over the place to do my commissions and I have found it near impossible to guess where I may be working next. Again, I never would have guessed that it would be Portsmouth in the South of England. I say this as Portsmouth is my home town, I was born there and I spent the first 23 years of my life, prior to the day, when London dragged me up the A3 for an additional 23.
I set off buoyed by the thought of a bit of home cooking and that I didn’t have to wander around with a map to track down the location.
The commission was to paint The Ship Anson pub on the harbour that sits just in front of the main dockyard gates, which makes it a very popular watering hole with the Royal Navy. At first glance, it looks like two pubs, in fact it may well have been two at one time, however, I have only ever known it as one. I could find nothing about the history of these structures, although I would say that the one on the left is Georgian and the one on the right is late Victorian. They loved a bit of mock Tudor.
Once I got to work I reacquainted myself with what a lovely building it is. It has fine stonework and slick jade tiles cladding the walls, I will certainly take this to a watercolour and maybe an oil too if I have the steam for it.
The drawing took me about an hour and a half and I enjoyed it greatly. As I finished it began to rain so I needed a bit of cover and a bite to eat too. It had to be Ed’s for old times’ sake.
Sadly Ed’ Diner closed down a few years after i completed this painting. Over 25 happy years.
The HMS Anson
I did, however, find something on HMS Anson which the pub was named after. The Anson was built in 1781 to fight in the French Revolutionary wars although her first action was at the Battle of the Saintes in The American Revolutionary Wars on the 9th April 1782. After surviving that action, she then entered the Napoleonic war proper, and fought a number of battles over the years, and in between times, she chased down Privateers.
Her luck finally ran out in the winter of 1807 when she was wrecked just outside Loo in Cornwall.
