Description
Great watercolour painting by Sidney Cardew of boats beached by the low tide. This stunning picture shows a number of fishing, rowing and sailing boats caught in the muddy estuary at low tide with many people continuing to work around the boats. This painting was exhibited at a Royal Society of Marine Artists exhibition in London in 2016. The painting is framed, mounted and glazed. The frame measures 66 x 57 cm with the picture itself measuring 35 x 26 cm.
Sidney Cardew RSMA British b 1931. Sidney Cardew was born in London and served in the RAF during his national service prior to a career in engineering. He is a largely self taught artist. He became a member of the Wapping Group of Artists in 1990 and was elected to The RSMA in 1992.
Here is a newspaper article about this painting and artist:-
Cardew…Another of the Wapping Group.
The artist featured this week was an active member of the influential Wapping Group of Artists who are renowned for painting en plein aire. The Wapping Group is a band of self-selecting artists who often join up and paint together as a group along the banks of the Thames in London. This very supportive group of artists has become increasingly influential over the years, with many of the membership going on to become elected to a number of the Royal Societies including The Royal Academy, Royal Society of Marine Artists, Royal Society of British Artists, etc.
Sidney Cardew, our artist of the week this week, is no exception, he was born in London in 1931 and enjoyed drawing and painting while still at school. He embarked on a career in engineering and completed his national service in the Air Force. He started painting in earnest in his early thirties, attended evening classes run by an excellent teacher, and initially concentrated on oil painting. He was subsequently attracted to watercolours because the process of picture making was faster and its effects more instantaneous. He discovered and greatly admired the art of Edward Seago, whose techniques and choice of marine subject matter had a profound effect on him.
As regards Sidney’s painting methods, he used to paint on Bockingford paper but now prefers to use Saunders paper because he finds it holds washes a bit better. He does only a minimal amount of drawing at the outset, stating only the main block shapes, and then looks to develop the painting with a lot of wet-into-wet work. He adds figures last to animate his marine subjects. He prefers to work onsite but also finishes paintings in the studio.
After attending sessions with the Wapping Group as a guest of Peter Gilman he was elected a full member in 1990, and in 1992 became a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists. He includes among his strongest influences John Singer Sargent, William Russell Flint, Ted Wesson and Jack Merriott (both of whom he watched demonstrating their techniques), and Trevor Chamberlain who has been a valued mentor to him. He has exhibited with the RI and with the RBA, and has work in a number of provincial galleries.
This beautiful example of Cardew’s work is entitled in the artist’s own hand to the reverse of the painting “Boat On The Shore” and is signed and dated 1982. It is of a boat beached by the low tide with a couple of sailing boats in the background also beached. The light and cloud configuration in this painting is quite calming giving the impression of a warm and calm summers day.
