A Pilot's Day Is Done

To Sea
18 x24
oil on wrapped canvas

"To Sea" my husband might say when I ask what his assignment is and then I know he will be taking a ship from somewhere near Vancouver out past Victoria and as the ship continues out to sea a pilot boat will come alongside to pick him up. He often takes his camera with him and was able to capture this scene so I couldn't resist painting it. Here is a fellow pilot having come down the side of a tanker by stairway, a ladder and finally stepping on to the deck of the pilot boat all the while trying to keep his balance, a challenge on stormy days. What fascinated me about this was how the man on the ship looked like he was suspended in the air with all the light reflecting off the side of the ship. I liked this effect so decided to keep it but found it challenging trying to make it look like it was receding. The reflections on the pilot boat were fun though. As usual my lesson learned here was to draw properly from the beginning as I spent quite a bit of time making corrections.