Fishing Boat Repairs, Essaouira, Morocco

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An interesting text to complement and equally interesting painting. There's plenty to look at and still easy on the eye. A lovely pallet, lovely work.

I was just thinking that. CA got there first! My first reaction too was why on earth were they wearing waterproofs in that heat? I suspect they were using some kind of barnacle killer!

Delicate detailing, nice contrast and beautiful contrast .... a very good painting

Thank you all for your kind comments. Much appreciated. As you say, Gudrun, I cannot imagine how hot it would have been in those heavy waterproofs but I suspect they were used for protection against some sort of nasty cleaner or paint that they were applying.

Excellent work Richard

beautiful work Richard very realistic

Essaouira (pronounced 'essa-weera', or 'es-Sweera' in Arabic) is Morocco’s main fishing port located on the Atlantic coast. In 2014 I visited Morocco, using Marrakech as my base. During my stay, I rented a car for 3 days and used it to visit the High Atlas Mountains and also Essaouira, where I had a most enjoyable day exploring the old city. The city dates back to pre-historic times and the current fortified port dates back to the 18th Century and contains numerous narrow alleyways and an extensive souk. When I visited, the harbour had numerous docked fishing boats of varying sizes and a bustling fish market selling a wide variety for seafood from numerous small outdoor market stalls. There was also a boat yard with several boats undergoing repairs. When I arrived a large blue fishing boat was being hauled out of the water. Once it was secured on the ramp, a team of workers dressing in waterproofs swarmed around the boat scraping barnacles and dirt off the hull. It looked like hot and dirty work. I immediately knew that I wanted to paint this scene and took numerous reference photographs that formed the basis of this painting. I also noticed that my favourite dog, Oscar had found his way in the boat yard and was intently watching the activity.