‘Ship of Fools’ – Painting can be a laugh
Sometimes it’s fun just to create a painting that’s a bit of a laugh. I started to paint this one with poking fun in mind, particularly the pompous Tory crowd on this boat just about to go over the edge of a waterfall.
The painting loosely inspired by Bosch’s painting Ship of Fools and gives a big nod to the works of James Gilray and John Heartfield. In their time all these artists were capable of sending up the establishment and the rich and powerful.
Whatever your political stance the art of wit, humour, sense of the ludicrous and general lampooning should never be lost, and for me this is what this painting has recreated.
This painting is on show at the Alfred East Art Gallery, Kettering until 26 May 2018, if you want a closer look.