The most distinctive aspects of Narrowboat Art are the
stylistically painted roses [and other flowers] and leaves arranged in wreaths
and groups, using bright primary colours, together with panels depicting
castles, usually with a river, a bridge over it, and mountains in the
background. That is not to say that all narrowboat art looks alike - far from
it. There are as many different styles as there are artists. The reasons why
roses and castles predominate are unclear and none of the various theories have
been proved.
Narrowboat Art is a style of painting which
originated on the canals in England during the 19th Century. The earliest boats
did not carry this style of decoration, but once the wives and children of the
boatmen joined them on board [because competition from the railways meant they
had to give up their cottages and move completely onto the boats] the
inevitable happened! One theory is the japanned metalware and papier mache
goods transported on the system in the 18th & 19th Century, which often
depicted ruins and castles.
Almost every single part of
working narrowboats and their equipment was painted.
Over the years a number of distinct styles arose in relation to how the roses
and leaves were formed, the shapes of the leaves, and the groupings used to
create frames around the panels. Some artists used a very plain, almost
stencilled style, whereas some other painters preferred realism to speed, and
their roses are indistinguishable from the real thing. This variety of styles
still exists today, and some boats are decorated in motifs which depart
completely from the more traditional styles. In some the roses have become
almost abstract patterns. Naomi belongs to the more traditional school.
Naomi became interested in narrowboat art on our many trips on the canals in Rambling Rose, my family's 50' narrowboat. My mother and grandmother had both always been keen artists in one way or another, and my grandmother had done some of the panels for RR, whilst my mother had painted many of the details on the boat and some of the mugs etc used on her. I've tried this style of painting myself, and anyone who thinks it is simplistic or easy should think again. I gave up in disgust after my first few pathetic attempts, but Naomi stuck at it and soon became very accomplished at building up the pictures and designing pleasing layouts. I am now relegated to doing the base-coating and final varnishing while she does the hard work!
Eventually she started looking out for articles to paint, such as enamelware and crockery. She soon progressed to sourcing plain china articles from potteries such as Spode in Stoke-on-Trent, and finally branched out into wooded stools and chairs, and also to brass miniatures. She even scours beaches for good-looking stones and shells to paint. Our house frequently resembles a cross between a marine chandlers and car boot stall.
Naomi's not doing much canal art at the
moment, because her asthma has not been too good and the paint fumes tend to
aggravate it [and using a different type of paint doesn't give access to the
really vivid colours required for canal art].
The process involved in painting in this style is surprisingly involved and time-consuming. The basic steps are as follows:-
Naomi initially painted for her own pleasure
and gave some of her work away to friends and family. Eventually, though she
decided to try selling her work and started standing at Craft Fairs and Canal Festivals around the country. One
such was the Islington Canal Festival held in
September each year on the Regents Canal near to City Road Basin. She has also
sold her work directly from the narrowboat and also sold wholesale to marinas
on the canal system. Selling directly from the boat is perhaps the most
pleasurable method, since the passers-by and boat owners are usually more
knowledgeable about narrowboat art and it's nice to be able to recognise
Naomi's work on another boat later on. There is a good atmosphere at canal
festivals, though, and business is usually briskest there.
Thus far Naomi has had to decline any really large-scale commissions such as boats or other articles which cannot be transported, because her asthma simply wouldn't permit it. Depending on her health, though, she will do smaller articles to order, though: either a plain article you already have, or a standard article such as a mug or teapot which we can obtain for you, or a larger article which you can deliver.
If you would be interested in ordering or commissioning some work, please email Naomi.
Alternatively, you can contact us by Telephone or Post, as follows:-
Naomi Clarke,
Rambling Rose Canal Art,
375 Rochdale Road,
Bury, Lanc's,
BL9 7DB. Telephone 0161-959 2350
Mobile 07939 608912
