Stephen Shankland
Artist, Winner of the 2004 BP Portrait Award
A WOODEN SAILING SHIP SITTING IN A GLASS CASE IN OUR LIVING
room is my favourite object. Little did I know it would take
nearly a year of dedicated time to
complete! I bought the
kit on a visit to Ronda in Spain with
my wife Kelly. Within
its hull I enclosed a scroll about its maker and origin,
a way of signing the boat for launch on a voyage through future
generations.
At Christmas, Kelly wanted me to buy our son
Connor something personal from his dad. It was his first
Christmas and, after he’d recovered from a life-threat-ening
condition when he was born that year, I knew he was about
to receive loads of gifts. I decided to buy him a boat from
the same Barcelona company that made the kit I’d bought
ten years earlier. Knowing how intricate it was and the attention
to detail he would have to apply to its construction, I reckoned
it would be a valuable lesson from his dad to apply to most
situations in life.
The kit is in our attic, waiting until
he's
old enough to appreciate it. I wrote a letter to him
that I’ve
sealed up in the kit. It explains why I chose the boat as
a gift on his first Christmas and about our first year with
him. My little boat, like my son, has already braved many
storms on its voyage through time.
Stephen’s work will be featured in the Scottish Portrait Artists' Exhibition
at The Leith Gallery, Edinburgh, from October 8 to 23. Tel: 0131 553 5255,
www.the-leith-gallery.co.uk
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY SMITH
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