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Brian Wood
He was born in London 19th August 1948, grew up in Tolworth, Surrey, eventually emigrating to Australia with his family. He left school aged 16 and served an apprenticeship in the printing industry as a machine minder. In that vocation he was a lost cause. He was aware of an ability to draw from an early age but only became interested in painting whilst recovering from a broken leg at the age of 20, never regarding it as any more than a hobby. On completion of his apprenticeship he joined the Australian Army, serving in Vietnam as an infantryman come photographer, working in less than ideal conditions. His duties called for him to photographically record his battalions tour for intelligence purposes as well as posterity. He was also prevailed upon to sketch for newsletters etc. After his discharge in 1972, he decided to travel on a working holiday which included working on an oil rig in the North Sea before travelling extensively in Europe, South America and Africa. He settled in South Africa for a period of time working in various jobs and experimenting more seriously with art. He returned to Australia where he accepted a position with the Port of Melbourne Authoritys Emergency Service, performing a number of duties but chiefly concerned with construction and salvage diving. During this period his recreation was his painting and he is completely self taught. Entries into specific exhibitions led to modest recognition by acceptance into the Australian Guild of Realist Artists and the securing of several private commissions. His interest in historical subjects, mainly maritime, has been with him since childhood. Due to developments beyond his control, his employment with the Port Authority ceased in mid 1991 and he embarked on painting full time. This resulted in his winning a First Prize Award in Sydneys Royal Easter Show for 1993 with Culloden - The Aftermath, which is now hanging in Aros - Isle of Skye Heritage Centre in Scotland. He now lives on the shores of Moreton Bay, Queensland and outside of his occupation of painting, sailing is his main recreation - a natural extension of his interesr in the sea. |
| Brian Wood Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings |
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| Text for the above items : |
Culloden the Aftermath by Brian Wood. This is my personal interpretation of the events immediately following the Battle of Culloden. There is no intention to depict either the shores of LochNam-Uarnh, the Highlands, glens or castles with geographic accuracy. Instead I have tried to portray the scenes following the first 3 days of the battle, the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the destruction and brutality wreaked upon the Highlands and the real sufferers, women and the innocent. 1 . The battlefield scene represents the time from plundering and butchering the wounded to when the ordinary people were allowed on to collect their dead. In the main central figure I have tried to impart a feeling of stoic dignity in the face of an uncertain future 2. The top section represents the form of Prince Charles. Despite the flames and carnage of Culloden, he is firmly supported in the hand of his Jacobite faithful to his safe exile aboard a French warship. Being mindfull that Clan tartans were not in common usage as uniforms of war at the time, only one tartan has been represented as such, that of the Royal Stewart, and that only to signify Charles claim to the thrones of England and Scotland. With his leaving, the sett fades as does he and his ambition. The burning, smouldering tartans signify the proscription of tartans, kilts, plaids etc by Westminster to discourage further rebellion. 3. With the Clans and their regiments broken, neither the natural barrier of the Highlands nor the great chiefs castles would prevent the poison of Culloden seeping into every glen or the fury of Cumberlands dragoons plundering at will. This is represented in the lower section. Armed with sword, manacles and the noose, these, Cumberlands most pitiless embarked on an orgy of murder, rape and pillage. The abyss of prison or exile awaited those suspected of Jacobite sympathies, the gallows for more serious resistance. Battles are fought and won, or lost, as all battles are, but Cullodens aftermath changed Scottish Highland society forever, ushering in a long period of suffering. This painting is my humble attempt to interpret that tragic period. |
HMS Ark Royal by Brian Wood. HMS Ark Royal part of Force H along with the Battleship HMS Renown and Cruiser HMS Sheffield departs Gibraltar to take part in the search for the Bismarck in the Atlantic. During the hunt HMS Ark Royal, Swordfish mistakenly attack the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Sheffiled. Fortunately, the torpedoes were not primed properly and crusier recieived no major damage. Spotter planes from HMS Ark Royal eventually found the Bismarck. and a attack commenced, crippling the Bismarcks rudder. The damage sustained lead to the rest of the Royal Navy surface fleet catching up with the Bismarck and sinking her. HMS ark Royal returns to the mediteranean. later on 13 November 1941: While on her return to Gibraltar in company with the HMS Malaya, HMS Argus, and HMS Hermione supported by Seven destroyers, HMSArk Royal is attacked by the U-81 under the command of Kapitanleutnant Guggenberger in the Mediterranean., and at 1541, a torpedo strikes the starboard side and the ship immediately takes a 10 degree list. within 20 minutes this list has increased to 18 degrees and Captain Maund orders all only essential crew to remain aboard with the rest of the crew to abandon ship. Destroyer HMS Legion under the command of Commander R. S. Jessel comes alongside and takes most of her crew on board, leaving 250 crew and t Captain Maund to try and save the ship but they have to also abndon ship, and just 14 hours after the torpedo strike HMS Ark Royal rolls over and sinks. from the entire crew their was only only one fatality,Able Seaman E. Mitchell was killed. |
The Vikings by Brian Wood. This, my personal interpretation of the viking period attempts to highlight aspects of their rich and diverse culture. A superstitious and pagan society, their influence was felt far beyond their native Scandinavia. 1 . The upper background deals with their pagan worship and tales from their mythology. This is represented by Odin & Thor, their principal Gods along with the saga of Sigurd the Dragonslayer. 2. The dominant figure at the centre is Aegir, God of the Sea whose goodwill was all important to the seafaring Viking. The scene now comes into the real world of their ships and seamanship, expertise for which they had no peer. 3. The extension of their seafaring was to raid, trade and pillage foreign shores, resulting in colonisation and settlement, with scant respect for Christianity or the Church. They ventured still further, exploring the unknown world, this is suggested in the two lower corners. 4. In England, the only King to successfully rise up against these Norsemen was Alfred the Great, a Saxon, represented in the lower centre drawing his sword from a swamp. This symbolises the raising of his army from the marshes of Wessex. Their legacy remains with us today, in language and art. |
HMS Rodney by Brian Wood. Destruction of Bismarck complete, and desperately low on fuel, Rodney turns for home 27th May 1941. |
HMS Prince of Wales by Brian Wood. HMS Prince of Wales is shown firing on the Bismarck and in the background a huge black cloud is all that is left of HMS Hood. |
HMS Hood Passing Gibraltar by Brian Wood. The pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, passes Gibraltar on her way to join HMS Prince of Wales at Scapa Flow and onto her short and tragic engagement with the German battleship Bismarck. |
Grenvilles Revenge by Brian Wood. The English fleet pursued the Armada up the English Channel and, as darkness fell, Vice Admiral Drake broke off and captured the Spanish galleon Rosario, Admiral Pedro de Valdes and the crew. The Rosario was known to be carrying substantial funds to pay the Spanish Army in the Low Countries. Drakes ship had been leading the English pursuit of the Armada by means of a lantern. By extinguishing this for the capture, Drake put the fleet into disarray overnight. On the night of 29th July 1588, Vice Admiral Drake organised fire-ships, causing most of the Spanish captains to break formation and sail out of Calais . The next day, Drake was present at the Battle of Gravelines. English losses were comparatively few, and none of their ships were sunk. |
The End of the Jacobite Dream by Brian Wood. Charles Edward Stuart on Board a French Warship bound for France, takes his last look at Scotland disappearing from view and reflects over the events of the previous year and what might have been. |
Trafalgar by Brian Wood. Undoubtedly the most famous battle in the history of naval warfare. The battle of Trafalgar was fought on a calm, almost windless day, on 21st October 1805. Nelsons revolutionary battle plan was to cut apart the larger Franco-Spanish fleet of Vice-Admiral Villeneuve by sailing in two single column divisions directly at right angles into the combined fleet and thus rendering almost half of the leading ships useless until they could turn and join the fight, which in such calm conditions could take hours. The battle raged for five hours, in which time not one single British ship was lost, however, Nelson would tragically lose his life at the very moment of his triumph, a triumph which rendered the British Navy unchallenged in supremacy for over a century. |
HMS Resolution 1780 by Brian Wood. HMS Resolution was a Royal Navy sloop and the ship in which Captain Cook made his second and third voyages. Along along with HMS Adventure they set sail from Plymouth on the 13th of July 1772. The total crew consisted of 112 including 20 volunteers form HMS Endeavour which was the ship captained by Cook on his first voyage from 1768 to 1771. On 17 January 1773, HMS Resolution was the first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle and crossed twice more on the voyage. HMS Resolution returned to Britain in 1775 and was then paid off, being recommissioned in February 1776 for the third voyage of Captain Cook. It was on this voyage that HMS Resolution crossed the Arctic Circle on 17th August 1778, and again crossed it on 19th July 1779. In this painting HMS resolution is shown arrving back in Britain on 4 October 1780. |
Death of the Bismarck by Brian Wood. The battered Bismarck fires its final salvos, during the last stage of the battle, 27th May 1941. |
HMS Endeavour by Brian Wood. Captain Cooks ship shown landing a party on the continent of Australia. Initially launched as the Collier Earl of Pembroke in 1764, the ship was purchased by the Admiralty in 1768 for the specific reason of a scientific mission to the Pacific Ocean. Renamed HMS Endeavour and becoming a 10 gun Royal Navy barque, she was captained by Lieutenant James Cook and this was to be his first of three famous voyages. HMS Endeavour set sail from Plymouth in August 1768, returning in 1771. |
H.M.A.S. Hobart 1944 by Brian Wood. No text for this item |
H.M.A.S. Geelong 1942 by Brian Wood. No text for this item |
H.M.A.S. Nizam 1943 by Brian Wood. No text for this item |
H.M.A.S.Vampire 1939 by Brian Wood. No text for this item |
H.M.A.S. Manoora 1940 by Brian Wood. No text for this item |
H.M.A.S. Wyhalla 1943 by Brian Wood. No text for this item |
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This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com |
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