Painting: Hull Ships Stores

Painting: Hull Ships Stores

Hull Ships Stores (final painting)

Introduction

My next painting is of an old warehouse building on the banks of the River Hull, previously occupied for many years by Hull Ships Stores. It is situated next to North Bridge. The view is from the middle of the bridge as I walked across. Drypool Bridge can be seen in the background.

The old North Bridge replaced a ferry here in 1541, and the remains of the old bridge can still be seen to the left of the building. It was replaced by the current Grade II listed bascule bridge in the early 1930s.

Hull Ships Stores, the ship supplies warehouse, was built in 1870 (architect RG Smith). It is a magnificent example of the grand architecture of the time and reflects the wealth of the shipping industry and associated commerce of Hull during its hey day. The old warehouse is full of character and is a little neglected. The building was converted into apartments in the 1980's and was Grade II listed in 1994.

The image below depicts the busy river scene in 1932 during the construction of the current North Bridge.

 

Hull Ships Stores Building, 1932

 

The Painting Process

 

I started the painting with a quick outline sketch

 

 

Quick outline sketch

 

The next step was to begin painting in the background to add depth. I decided that the river would comprise mainly of negative space to balance the composition and to emphasise the importance of the main building.



 

 

Background painted in and negative space added in the form of the river

 

 

Commencement of main building and positioning of windows

 

I then started on the main building. The process was a bit daunting and I feared that I had taken on too much. I initially got the placement of the large central windows in the wrong vertical position. I therefore blocked them out and repositioned them, as you can see in the image above.

 

 

 

I continued working on the structure and architecture of the building. I wanted to capture the large scale of the old warehouse and its character. I widened the depth of the building to better reflect its vast size. I added detail to the windows (42 of them!).

 

 

The final stage involved adding the natural growths on the façade of the building, such as buddleia wrapping around the fall pipes and greenery beneath the outflows . There were different varieties and colours of seaweeds clinging to the walls which are revealed at low tide. They formed an interesting feature. I also checked the tones, and darkened the left  and right hand foregrounds whilst also lightening the tone of the river where the light passed through in the background.

 

 

Detail of the façade showing architecture and natural growth of plants on the walls

 

 

Background detail

 

 

Summary

 

I felt that I had taken on a big task. I wanted to do justice to the building and convey references to the past and its faded grandeur. I also aimed to link in the natural landscape of the scene.

 

I set out to achieve this through the scale of the composition and to add to the atmosphere with the use of colour. I used the limited palette which I have used before. The background colour (a mix of burnt umber and yellow ochre) seemed to suit the scene. It blended in with the mud of the river bed and the brick of the building, whilst also adding to the overall atmosphere. I wanted to use the negative space of the river in a constructive way and therefore I chose not to add detail. In this way I emphasised the importance of the old warehouse to the view. The industrial heritage of the building is offset by the natural landscape and plant life growing on the walls reflects the continual ebb and flow of the tidal river. I think that the painting is successful in reflecting the concept of man-made objects taking their place alongside nature in the industrial landscape.

 

My main influences were  Michael Raedecker for the composition and use of negative space, Charles Sheeler for the industrial landscape and Peter Doig for the soft edges and natural landscape.