3 minute read
Your Stories: Oman & Antarctica
The big picture (clockwise from this) John painting his private camp in Oman’s Empty Quarter and his depiction of it at sunrise; John at work in the Antarctic and his painting of the red ship; John and wife riding camels in the desert
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OMAN & THE ANTARCTIC
Combining his passion for painting with a love of travel, Commander John Ford shows us the artwork he created while exploring Oman and the Antarctic, and tells us what inspires his creativity. How long have you been painting for? Since I was an aspiring artist at 17 – I still have some of my original paintings. I’ve I’d say that the highlight of our travels has been our trip to Antarctica with Audley. We cruised from South America to the Falkland Islands and South Georgia before reaching the Antarctic Peninsula. Everyone should make a stop in South Georgia, if they can, as it’s teeming with bird and animal life.
As for the Antarctic itself, I think it’s very special. There’s almost something philosophic about being on this vast, uninhabited continent. Commander John Ford, a former pilot in the Royal Navy, has traveled across Oman and cruised the Antarctic – and painted in both continued to paint ever since, and now have a particular interest in marine painting, having had a 26-year career in the Royal Navy. Has traveling always been a passion? As a pilot in the Royal Navy I’ve seen a lot of the world, but my wife and I have always enjoyed traveling – she came out to meet me in Singapore when we were first married.
What was it like to paint in the Antarctic? On our cruise we set out twice a day in Zodiac dinghies. One day, while the others trudged off to see a penguin colony, I was dropped off onto my own patch of snow. As an artist, you are always looking for a nice composition, and as I headed off with my paint box, I settled down to paint the scenery, using the red hull of our ship as a focal point.
On this day it was sunny, so the cold was bearable, and as the heat of my body melted the ice, I began to slowly sink into the snow as I painted. I paint with oils and have a box that has a special set of slots so I can slip the paintings in there to dry.
You’ve painted everywhere, from watery landscapes to deserts... The desert was pretty cold too. As part of our recent trip across Oman, we spent a night in the Rub’ al Khali, known as the Empty Quarter, one of world’s largest deserts. We drove around 25 miles into the sandy dunes, where our private camp was pitched.
After sunrise, one of the team carried a chair for me out across the sand, and I set my paint box on my knee just as the sun began to rise behind the dunes. I painted our camp but, using a little artistic license, I omitted the support tent and kitchen in the background.
How did painting in Oman’s desert contrast to the Antarctic? Well, sand got everywhere for starters. The highlight was the human interactions. When I was painting, the staff at our camp was excited to see what I’d been up to, and everyone was always incredibly warm and welcoming.
In fact, this was my biggest impression of the country. Our driver guide stayed with us for the entire trip and helped us learn about the Omani people and their lives. They’ve experienced a big change over the last 50 years, moving from being a nomadic people to a more modern society, and he shared this with us during our trip.
What have you done with these paintings? At the moment they’re stacked up in my studio, as I’ve just finished preparing for an upcoming exhibition. It’s just a question of wall space!
