Acrylic on canvas -  It shows an imaginary harbour as sailors return with their wares on a tranquil summer’s evening. The golden setting sun is at the centre of the composition above the misty horizon, its light illuminating the undersides of the clouds and reflecting off the ripples on the small west country harbour. A ship has just arrived – it is just possible to make out the tiny figures on its mast yards furling the sails.

Gallery Summary

Twilight of Sail

Oil on Canvas

Twilight of Sail imagines a fictional harbour town on England's West Country coast during one of history's great periods of transition—the closing years of the Age of Sail and the emergence of steam-powered industry.

Created from an original AI-generated concept but extensively reinterpreted in oil, the painting became an exploration of atmosphere rather than historical accuracy. Merchant ships still lie quietly alongside the quays, while an early steam vessel appears in the distance, symbolising the arrival of a new industrial age. Around them, everyday life continues: merchants converse, travellers cross the harbour by boat, and townspeople go about their evening beneath the warm glow of sunset.

The painting also hints at the fading world of maritime folklore. It is a place where tales of privateers, smugglers, pirates and sea legends still linger in the imagination, even as commerce, technology and social order begin to reshape the coastline.

For me, this work became less about documenting history than capturing a moment suspended between two worlds—where romance and adventure slowly give way to progress and modernity. It celebrates that fragile point in history where the past has not yet disappeared, and the future has only just arrived.

Limited edition - 300 ONLY signed (by me) and hand embellished.