Ernie's Paintings, Offered For Sale
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Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson
The Lord Nelson painting is featured in Ernie's Book
'My Thoughts On Canvas, Book 2'.
link to more about Ernie's Books
It is pictured in situ during an exhibition at Great Yarmouth Minster,
(hence the fishing net drapery).
Truly a Local Hero, Nelson was born in the village of Burnham Thorpe in the King's Lynn District of North Norfolk, and is celebrated throughout the county. Even the road signs which herald your entry proclaim that you are entering "Norfolk - Nelson's County".
Ernie painted this 170 x 145 cm (approximately) framed portrait
in oils on canvas in 2004/5, taking almost a year to complete. It was painted initially to provide the image for the Limited Edition Tankard he carved in 2005 and other commemorative wares that were made by Great Yarmouth Potteries to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of The Battle of Trafalgar.
The range of commemorative items sold worldwide.
Since that time it has been in constant demand, in its ornate Italian gilt frame, for many public exhibitions and displays. Examples of which are the Annual Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival; The Town Hall and The Minster Church of St Nicholas, Great Yarmouth.
Photographed during an exhibition at Great Yarmouth Minster and draped in fishing net and cork floats, and having served the public's interest faithfully over several years since its creation, the framed portrait is now offered for outright sale at £5,000.
The Last Catch Before Christmas
The Last Catch... painting is featured in Ernie's Book
'My Thoughts On Canvas', the First book.
This oils on board, measuring approximately 180 x 137 cm was one of Ernie's all-time favourites. He loved to feature The Jetty at Great Yarmouth, and this study is no exception. The frame is timber and rope.
Perhaps because he began the painting on a cold, windy November morning, when the wind was whistling around him through the gaps in the Old Smokehouse workshops where he did most of his work, the dark grey day inspired him to begin with the sky, and his thoughts roamed to Marc, their eldest son, who was working on an oil boat in the North Sea. Ernie was musing on whether their son would be home for Christmas.
He connected that thought with the many Christmases in his boyhood days where he witnessed many a stalwart crew attempting to beach and anchor their vessel in pretty rough seas, working hard to be home with their loved ones for the festive season.
This wonderfully evocative painting is offered for sale at £4,000.
Lavender Girl
This painting is featured in Ernie's Book
'My Thoughts On Canvas, Book 2'.
Ernie's subject is in North Norfolk and has gathered a basket of lavender blooms in a basket.
This is sea lavender, which differs from the cultivated variety and is very common where the tide recedes a long way to reveal wide beaches.
Another feature of these wide beaches, not often mentioned, is the availability of cockles which can be dug for at low tide. You can usually hear them squeaking under foot, which reveals where to dig.
Ernie has painted this study in oils on canvas and the size is approximately 64 x 54 cm. The frame is dark wood and gilt.
The delightful Lavender Girl is offered for sale at £300.
Paddling By The Sea - Great Yarmouth
Ernie's study, located at the beach close to Great Yarmouth Harbour Mouth, of three of his grandchildren (Laura, Jessica and Lois) playing along the shoreline.
It is painted in oils on canvas.
It measures approximately 73 x 54 cm and is finished with a gilt frame 7 cm wide.
The painting is offered for sale at £300.
A Hug For Mum
This painting is featured in Ernie's Book
'My Thoughts On Canvas', The first book.
Mother and daughter share a hug during a mardle with the menfolk, discussing the day's catch on Yarmouth beach.
This oils on board, surrounded by a gilt frame, measures approximately 195 x 140 cm.
This was the first painting Ernie created after having a 'eureka moment' at his workshop in the Old Smokehouse. He was considering the many visitors who walked through the doors, and of the range of disabilities amongst them. He was thinking how marvellous it would be if he could create a 'braille painting' so that sighted-impaired guests might experience his work more completely. They could explore the sculptures with their hands, but not so much the paintings.
He decided that he could make this happen by incorporating bulking agents into his oil paints such as beach sand and eggs, allowing him to vary the depth of material on the canvas.
To the delight of his visually impaired visitors and himself, it worked! And some elements of the painting gained an extra dimension.
Hope And Tragedy
This painting is featured in Ernie's Book
'My Thoughts On Canvas', The first book.
In the times of Captain George William Manby FRS (1765-1854) and earlier, of course, many ships came to grief on Scroby Sands, the beach or Harbour Mouth at Yarmouth. One notable incident in 1807 was witnessed by Manby, which led him to experiment with the use of mortars in rescue equipment. The Manby Mortar, later developed into the Breeches Buoy, a mortar and rope rescue system which could be deployed if the distressed vessel was close enough to shore.
In this painting, Ernie records the heroism of the brave men who man the lifeboat in such extreme conditions. He has included amongst the characters on the beach, himself and younger son Lee.
Photographed during an exhibition at Great Yarmouth Minster and draped in fishing net and cork floats, it is uniquely painted in oils on Brazilian plywood, is currently unframed, measures approximately 180 x 137 cm. and is offered for sale at £3,000.
Collecting The Road Apples
Ernie painted this scene, like may others, from his almost photographic memory. From Images in books and galleries, to past experiences, Ernie could re-create, with uncanny accuracy, a scene or event.
Here we have a street scene outside the Alms Houses in Whapload Road, Lowestoft.
'Happy' Welham and Jakie Smith - the Beach Village chimney sweeps with their donkey and cart.
The donkey has kindly provided some 'road apples' which are being hastily gathered up as fertiliser by an eagle-eyed housewife.
The painting, along with one entitled 'The Beach Shods' was used to illustrate the cover of a book entitled 'The Grit - the story of Lowestoft's Beach Village' by Jack Rose and Dean Parkin (ISBN 1 872992 10 2)
This painting is Framed Oils on Board
Size: (board) 72" x 48"
(framed) 75" x 55"
Price: £3,000
Maritime Majesty
This painting is featured in Ernie's Book
'My Thoughts On Canvas', The first book.
Ernie and Karen were part of a small (but perfectly formed (!)) group of dedicated, enthusiastic townsfolk who conceived and developed the idea of hosting an Annual Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival. They made if happen and it ran successfully for several years, until Ernie's sad passing in 2019.
The main part of the Festival was along the stretch of the river on Historic South Quay, opposite the Town Hall.
At the Festival each year, in the Great Yarmouth Potteries marquee, Ernie would delight the thousands of visitors who passed through by painting one of his famously large canvases live in front of them.
He would inevitably invite up to the easel one brave soul who, under his guidance, would paint their very own seagull into the scene. For posterity, the guest would know that their contribution would forever be a part of that painting.
Maritime Majesty is one such painting. It is oils on canvas, framed in a gilt frame, measures approximately 5 x 3.5 feet and is offered for sale at £750.
YH66 - Irene
Captured and immortalised by Ernie, 'YH66 - Irene' A Yarmouth diesel-powered drifter returning to port laden with herring, and taking part in the Annual Smack Race.
These events were held as a 'sport', to see which vessel could get their catch back to port the fastest.
The absolute pinnacle of the competition between vessels was the annual Prunier Trophy contest for who would land the biggest single catch to Lowestoft or Great Yarmouth.
This was sponsored by Madame Simone Prunier, a French restaurateur who had branched out into London, and having heard of the plight of the East Coast Herring Fishing Industry, sponsored the event with a cash prize and all expenses paid trip and slap-up meal in London for the winning crew.
Ernie, with his Great Yarmouth Potteries hat on, designed and manufactured replica trophies as a limited edition.
Photographed during an exhibition at Great Yarmouth Minster and draped in fishing net and cork floats, this painting is approximately 5ft 9in x 4ft 6in, oils on board with a gilt frame and is offered for sale at £900.
Full Sail By Moonlight
This painting is featured in Ernie's Book
'My Thoughts On Canvas', The first book.
Ernie and Karen loved the sea, and loved to travel and this painting is a combination of two scenrarios.
The first snapshot was remembered by Ernie as the pair leaned over the bow rail of the ship as they journeyed round the Bay of Biscay, an area of the oceans noted for its severe weather. This, and the impending storm, impacting on the sea colour and style, and even how the seagulls interact with the waves.
The secondary influence occurred immediately prior to the Annual Maritime Festival, when Ernie was taking a customary walk along the beach. He spotted these two tall ships in full sail, heading for the harbour where they were due to take part in the forthcoming Festival Weekend.
Combining the two separate events resulted in the oils on canvas we see here. It measures approximately 40 x 28 inches, and is offered for sale at £750.
A Fish Auction
This painting is featured in Ernie's Book
'My Thoughts On Canvas', The first book.
This is the left hand canvas of what Ernie painted as a pair, coupled with 'A Mardle' which follows below.
It gives a panoramic view of the occasion of a shoreline fish auction on the beach, and the meetings which take place around and 'off camera' as it were. Maybe business, maybe work, maybe just chit-chat (or mardling). Anyway, given artistic licence, Ernie has decided that the right-hander is a mardle!
In the early years of the Herring Fishing Industry in Great Yarmouth, catches were landed and sold on the beach, often in an area of South Denes opposite where the Norfolk Naval Pillar stands (locally affectionately known as Nelson's Monument).
Although Ernie conceived these as a pair, it can be seen that they display equally successfully separately too.
Photographed during an exhibition at Great Yarmouth Minster and draped in fishing net and cork floats, this gilt framed painting measures approximately 6ft 6in x 4ft 7in and is offered for sale individually at £2,000 or the pair together for £3,500.
A Mardle
This painting is featured in Ernie's Book
'My Thoughts On Canvas', The first book.
Here is how they look as a pair
This is the right hand canvas of what Ernie painted as a pair. Coupled with 'A Fish Auction' which is shown above.
It gives a panoramic view of the occasion of a shoreline fish auction on the beach, and the meetings which take place around and 'off camera' as it were. Maybe business, maybe work, maybe just chit-chat (or mardling). Anyway, given artistic licence, Ernie has decided that the right-hander is a mardle!
Ernie recounts 'The fisherfolk would travel down the east cost, following the shoals of fish, catching, processing and selling their catch as they went. The last two ports of call were Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
'As the season ran from September until just before Christmas, landladies who looked after visitors during the summer months opened up to the fisherfolk letting 6 to a bed (2 working, 2 resting or shopping, 2 sleeping).'
Although Ernie conceived these as a pair, it can be seen that they display equally successfully separately too.
Photographed during an exhibition at Great Yarmouth Minster and draped in fishing net and cork floats, this gilt framed painting measures approximately 6 ft 6 inches x 4 ft 7 inches and is offered for sale individually at £2,000 or the pair together for £3,500.
Heavy Seas By The Jetty
This painting is featured in Ernie's Book
'My Thoughts On Canvas', The first book.
Ernie had a particular attachment to The Jetty and its significance to the maritime history of his home town. It features in many of his paintings.
It was used as a landing by Admiral Lord Nelson when he visited the town, but, as early as the 16th century, galleons and other large vessels would drop anchor in the Yarmouth Roads and crews would row ashore, alighting at The Jetty.
So, for many years, The Jetty was important to merchant and naval vessels, as well as the herring fishing industry.
In Victorian times, paddle steamers would bring passengers up the coast from London to The Jetty. The town was popular with the Victorians, who took great pleasure in seaweed baths and 'taking the waters' here.
In this painting Ernie captures a tragedy that befell sailing vessels along our coastline. It illustrates that even though the tragedy unfolded very close to the beach and Jetty, the sea was so rough that the fisherfolk close by were unable to assist.
Painted on board in oils, 'Heavy Seas By The Jetty' has a gilt frame and measures approximately 3 ft 4 inches x 2 ft 10 inches and is offered for sale at £750.
Battle Of Trafalgar
This painting is featured in Ernie's Book
'My Thoughts On Canvas', The first book.
Photographed at Ernie's exhibition in the Great Yarmouth Minster, and adorned with fishing net and cork floats for effect, this magnificent scene is Ernie's impression of three 100-gun English Battleships manoeuvring in full sail towards the enemy to port and starboard.
It was during this battle that Admiral Lord Nelson received a fatal wound from a musket shot and died three hours later, before the battle was over.
Ernie said: "If there was a port that Nelson called home, it was Yarmouth, so I had to do a Victory picture. It took me ages to get things right.... I had to keep going back and adding bits here and there,,,the smoke...the flames...the fires....the gunpowder blasts...the colours.
We often said of Ernie though, a painting would never be finished unless it wastaken away from him. In different frames of mind, on different days, his attitude to certain elements would change, so he would 'tweak' them constantly.
Painted in oils on canvas with a gilt frame Battle Of Trafalgar measures approximately 5 ft 2 inches x 4 ft 3 inches and is offered for sale at £2,500.
Happisburgh Flints
Thrown Up By The Tide
Ernie was very fond of a section of beach by a lifeboat station 20-odd miles up the coast from home, near Happisburgh and Sea Palling.
You can drive towards the beach down Cart Gap Score and park at the lifeboat shed car park (pay and display). There you can access the beach down the lifeboat launch ramp and turn left towards Cromer and Sheringham or turn right towards Bacton, Stalham and Great Yarmouth.
There are several groynes along the walk on this wide open beach in either direction, and the sea, obviously with great force, picks up these flints of infinite different sizes, shapes and colours and pounds them against the groynes, which, acting almost like a sieve, let through the smaller examples, but ones of the right size will remain, wedged in the groynes, at least unless someone removes them, or the fierce tide returns and reverses the process.
Of course, the process sparked Ernie's imagination and he transferred the image from his memory onto oils on canvas for this painting.
Approximate size of this dark framed canvas is 22 ft 9 inches x 2 ft 1 inch. It is offered for sale at £350.