Alan Runagall
Refuelling at Leigh, watercolour, 8x11in (20x28cm). I was so engrossed in painting the boat that I had only sketched in the tanker when it left, so I had to complete the painting from memory. By necessity I kept the detail simple
My love of the water began at a very young age when I used to go down to the River Roach at Stambridge, Essex and watch the Thames barges work their way up to the mill to discharge their cargo of grain from the London docks. As a boy I was always drawing and painting the hustle, bustle and atmosphere of dock life. Although I loved the free-flowing watercolours of Jack Merriott and Edward Wesson, my greatest inspiration was the Leigh artist Vic Ellis, whom I got to know quite well. In his oil paintings he was able to capture the east coast and Thames estuary scene of bawleys, Thames barges, smacks and steamers with imagination Wapping Group of Artists and the Royal Society of Marine Artists, both of which I am proud to be a member of today.