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Sheppey artist Richard Jeferies recreates Turner's Fighting Temeraire on the seawall

Acclaimed British artist JMW Turner was a regular visitor to the Isle of Sheppey and painted some of his most famous pictures there like the Fighting Temeraire.

For those who don't recall it, Minster parish council has commissioned Sheerness artist Richard Jeferies to recreate it as a mural on the seawall near the White House restaurant on The Leas.

Sheerness artist Richard Jeferies and his mural inspired by Turner's Fighting Temeraire on the seawall at The Leas, Minster
Sheerness artist Richard Jeferies and his mural inspired by Turner's Fighting Temeraire on the seawall at The Leas, Minster

The colours of the sunset are striking and light up the wall at the end of The Broadway.

Richard, 56, a father-of-four who runs Squarecube Artisans, said: "The concept was developed in a brainstorming session with the parish council's clerk Trish Hamilton. The surface of the seawall is so uneven it suited Turner's loose style of brushwork perfectly.

"The subject is also closely linked to the Thames Estuary. I practised the style before when I painted a similar mural for the Sheppey Sea Cadets's hall at Barton's Point Coastal Park a few years ago."

Miss Hamilton said: "We asked for a Turneresque-style mural and Richard delivered it in a day. There is even an impression of the artist himself if you look closely. I absolutely love it."

The council has commissioned a number of public works of arts during the past year. Richard has also spruced up signage at The Glen public open space and created rainbow steps and an Alice In Wonderland children's maze on the seafront.

Sheerness artist Richard Jeferies has created a mural inspired by Turner's Fighting Temeraire on the seawall at The Leas, Minster, Sheppey. Picture: Richard Jeferies
Sheerness artist Richard Jeferies has created a mural inspired by Turner's Fighting Temeraire on the seawall at The Leas, Minster, Sheppey. Picture: Richard Jeferies

The 98-gun HMS Temeraire, one of the last second-rate ships of the line to have played a role in the Battle of Trafalgar, was towed up the Thames by a paddle-wheel steam tug in 1838 before she was broken up for scrap at Rotherhithe.

She had lain at anchor in Sheerness Dockyard. Joseph Mallord William Turner used a bit of artistic licence to capture the event in oils. The painting, voted the nation's favourite by BBC Radio 4 listeners, first went on display at the Royal Academy in 1839. It now hangs in the National Gallery in London.

The image is also on the back of the current £20 notes.

In the original painting Turner included himself in a small boat on the right.

The mural at The Leas, Minster, painted by Richard Jeferies and inspired by Turner's Fighting Temeraire
The mural at The Leas, Minster, painted by Richard Jeferies and inspired by Turner's Fighting Temeraire
Turner's original painting of The Fighting Temeraire. Picture: The National Gallery
Turner's original painting of The Fighting Temeraire. Picture: The National Gallery

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