Contre jour - an academician at work.

At this time of year when the weather is in two minds and it is either about to rain, or just has, the light in Newlyn has a unique quality - hence the attraction over one hundred years ago for a group of artists that became the Newlyn School as they sought to capture those light tones on canvas.  Today, if you are early enough down among the boats you can catch local artists at work 'en plein' in the early morning light. Today was no exception, with one of the doyens of English coastal artists, Ken Howard, at his easel intent on capturing the constantly changing moody sky above a harbour crowded with boats over the spring tide.

For reference - the photo, in order to apply the correct exposure to the painting on the canvas, is over exposed and has therefore failed to capture the dramatic sky that the artist is in the process of capturing - contre jour translates as 'against the light' - a photograph exposed for the background when taken against the light inevitably causes the subject and foreground to be under exposed.

Ken has dedicated his life's work to capturing the tonal qualities of coastal scenes, not only in the West of Cornwall but also in the Venice. His technically informative video, 'Inspired by Light' is essential viewing for any artist with an interest in improving understanding and technique. In his long career that began at Hornsey School of Art in the 1950s he has since achieved many of the milestones that similar artists aspire to such as becoming a Royal Academician and more recently the Professor of Perspective at the RA. Early in his career, while serving as a marine in Northern Ireland he was appointed the official war artist by the Imperial War Museum. His current work is available through his agent Richard Green in London, where he spends much of the year. The Royal Academy of Arts ran a story on him in their summer magazine last year - unable to resist the temptation to give it the strap line, Howard's Way.

Today, in a world of video and digital according to Ken, many art students, seem reluctant to subject themselves to the rigours of the craft of drawing and painting and in learning to apply centuries old techniques like the one he is using above - using his brush to measure proportion from the scene against his canvas.......

not all images have such strong and obvious vanishing points as this showing the gangplank leading aboard the Ripple. Different cultures see perspective in different ways.

I see.

One lump or two? ice gets recycled back in the harbour......

the megs from the Cornishman come under close scrutiny from the buyers,,,,,

along with a selection of big cod or 'green'.......

the Ben My Chree was one of the last netters to land this tide......

some of the buyers are just too quick......

seems there were some doubting Thomas' with regard to the Starmobile.

Trawler Wars on Sky - Discovery Channel beams the beamers to your screen this weekend.

Starting this Sunday at 9pm on the Discovery Channel - Trawler Wars! sees the big Brixham's boys of the blackstuff take on the three top towing teams from Newlyn including the Billy Rowney above.  Available for viewing on Sky at the moment, a short sample movie sets the scene for the coming series. The opening sequences show the big Bricky beamer Angel Emiel

as she fishes away in the comparitively calm waters off the South Devon coast while in storm lashed Newlyn, skipper Steve Mosely wrestles with the decision to go or not go during a brief weather window - he sails, only to find the friendly man in the Met Office is dishing out 10s again........

Too many toms.

Hardly sun-kissed - twelve hours in a very low oven doused with olly oil, garlic and sea salt.

Russsian Federation research ship Atlantniro on passage.

The screen shot taken from VesselTracker's AIS display today revealed the Russian Federation's research ship Atlantniro steaming south west in the Western Approaches. Atlantniro is a leading scientific research institute of Russia to investigate fishery biological resources in the Baltic Sea, Central and Southern Atlantic, Southeastern Pacific and Western Indian Ocean. The research is aimed at the development of scientific basis for rational utilization of biological resources on the base of up-to-date technologies.

The company uses satelite technology to predict the likely areas in which to locate fish based on received data like sea temperature, wind direction and plankton levels and provides additional services which are available commercially via their web site.

New Seafood traning oppoortunities in Newlyn.

Money secured by Newlyn-based Seafood Cornwall Training will provide a major boost to the shore-based seafood sector across Cornwall and the rest of the South West. The organisation has secured £26,650 from South West Food & Drink (SWFD) to train students in fish filleting, fishmongery and seafood quality. The training is open to anyone involved in the South West's fishing industry.

Fish handling and filleting courses will be held in the purpose built training kitchen in Penwith College's new Zennor building in nearby Penzance.

Trainees will also be able to use the restaurant facility with its stunning views over Mount's Bay and the Lizard.

Cornish claws have it!

Newquay's Blue Reef Aquarium now has a full compliment of two-handed lobsters in its tanks. Last month the first arrived with two cutting claws and now, thanks to the Pen kernow from St Just, they have a fish with two crushing claws to make a matched pair!