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Law of Storms

Three paintings based on drawings made near Burrastow, the west side of Shetland. 
A wild day of south-easterly winds, so strong I could hardly stand up, bringing vast waves crashing over the skerries.
That day I lost my rucksack holding all my drawings and materials; blown into the air and claimed by the sea. 
The Law of Storms I, Burrastow, Shetlan

The Law of Storms I  Burrastow, Shetland.  SOLD

oil on canvas 48"x60"

The Law of Storms II, Burrastow, Shetland

Law of Storms II', Burrastow, Shetland, oil on canvas 48" x 60" 

on show at Kilmorack Gallery 

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The Law of Storms III_edited.jpg

The Law of Storms III. Burrastow, Shetland. SOLD

oil on canvas 150x120cm

Henry Piddington, an English sea captain who sailed in east India and China, wrote a book Law of Storms describing his studies in meteorology of tropical storms and hurricanes. From his observations of ships caught in storms he noted the circular winds around a calm centre ran anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. He introduced the name 'cyclone'. His book 'The Horn-Book for the Law of Storms for the Indian and China Seas' was first published in 1844. 

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The book contained a 'Storm Card - a translucent sheet (originally made of horn) showing a diagram of a cyclone; this could be placed on a map enabling wind directions to be compared by any sailor in order to identify a cyclone, and having done so, take a tacking course to avoid it.
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