31/01/2026
'Harbour Walls' by Leigh Cripps.
Acrylic paint and charcoal on canvas.
My aim with this painting was to capture a grittier, rugged, working Minehead harbour rather than a tourist spot for taking pretty pictures.
I found myself focusing more on the architecture than the boats. The weathered ropes, wood, metal, and stones—shaped by human hands and time, which continue to hold back the sea.
The walls are full of marks and scars, rich with history and harbouring countless untold stories, memories, and secrets.
It’s a demanding environment especially in the winter, a place where people had to confront harsh conditions day after day, and many people still do.
Sketching there on a chilly morning wasn’t easy, yet harbours will continue to be a special and fascinating place for me, and I will always be painting them.
This is a large painting, 40 x 40 inches but the subject and style call for it to be big.
What a statement piece this painting would be hanging on someone’s wall!
