Trafalgar

This painting is really 3 things. Firstly, its an abstract. Secondly, its a seascape and, thirdly, its a representation of an event in history. It began life as an abstract depiction of a seaside and, as I tend to do, began to alter it after a few years. As I added shapes and tones, it seemed that the dark area I had put in the middle of the composition resembled a pall of black smoke. I realised that what I had made, somewhat by accident, was the image of a battle at sea. Now, of course, there are many depictions of the Battle of Trafalgar but how many of them depict what, of the battle, a person standing on the shoreline at the time might have seen? The battle took place in 1805 only several miles out from the southern Spanish coast, near Cadiz, so it is possible that something of it could have been seen from the shore. The thought occurs that it may well have been seen by people, including some who had no idea of what they were witnessing. It is painted on a canvas and has a simple wooden frame of my own making. Its a big piece. With the frame, it measures 129 cms by 104 cms.