Shane Couch

Marine Artist and J Class Specialist

I was born in the industrial north of England at a time of high unemployment and limited prospects. From an early age I was seen as artistic; always with a pencil in my hand mostly drawing the ships and battles my father and grandfather told me about from their time in the Navy.

As I grew up, I’d spend hours in libraries reading books and old magazines; captivated by the stories of great ships. My father was a great model builder--our house being filled with models of sailing ships and battleships. I would use these models when he was not looking to recreate the battles I read about and use them as references for my early drawings. I was always in trouble if he found an airplane dislodged from a carrier deck, a bent mast, or missing sail.

Today, I will use models in the same way to follow along an old race looking for some new angle from which to capture the action. In Francis Herreshoff’s book about his father, Francis talks about the unigue aspect of seeing a form in 3D as opposed to 2D. I can really resonate with this. Before I start a painting, I will build a 1:30th scale model of the yacht to be depicted. It is when holding the hull in my hands I really get a sense of its form and shape and it takes on an identity and personality of its own and you create a strong bond.

Being brought up in the industrial north of England in the 1970s and from a very working-class background, I was steered towards a job in industry and away from any artistic ambitions I may have naively entertained. At length I became a Project Engineer in the Aircraft industry; a position I held for the next 15 years. As I look back now I see just how important these years would become for me. It was during this time I learnt to understand engineering drawings, schedule build programs, grapple with problems, and find new creative solutions. During my painting process there will be areas of the painting I’ll be having difficulty with. For instance, how light would fall or be reflected off a certain object on a deck for a shadow cast on the curved surface of a sail. These problems are most often solved for me by building models that will answer the question.

During my time as an engineer, the spark of an artist’s desire never went out. I would still sketch and read, building quite an impressive library on naval history. Then fate intervened and the spark became a fire. One day when sketching in my office during my lunch break, a colleague chanced to look at what I was doing and expressed a wish for a painting based on the sketch. At this point I’d never done a painting, only sketched, but I welcomed the challenge. With a few paints and brushes and working from my kitchen during the evening, I produced my first painting of two galleons fighting. When my colleague saw the painting, she was delighted and bought it. I returned home that day with several other commissions from other work colleagues, and so, my artistic career began.

Once the fire was burning, I found it impossible to see a future in my role as an engineer. After just 12 months, I took the plunge, left my job, and became a full time artist. People at the time thought I was crazy; I had a good job, one that was for life with a good pension, but I just believed my path lay elsewhere.

On a visit to the Isle of Wight, I showed my work to a local gallery owner. With his encouragement and support, I moved to Cowes where I was immersed in its rich heritage of Yachting. My sketching and painting shifted from Navel scenes to yachts and yachting; particularly the big class and the J Class. It was here, listening to the stories of the great yachts and races of the past, that I first heard the names of Herreshoff and Barr. It seemed to me the two went together. In those early days I was so lucky to meet and listen to some of the actual sailors that raced on the J’s in the 1930s and listen to their stories, It was just like listening to my Grandfather all those years before. They made the past come alive and my imagination took fire.  For the 30 following years I have painted my passion. During my journey I have searched out and developed those skills that I felt were needed to better tell the stories I wanted to share as accurately and passionately as possible. I am constantly looking to develop and improve my story telling skills. I have been so lucky to have witnessed and sailed on some of the world’s most beautiful and spectacular yachts and met the remarkable people who both race and run them. 

I’m currently working on painting a whole series that will depict all of the yachts made famous by the partnership of Capt. Nat Herreshoff and Charlie Barr. With the 100th anniversary of the J class in 1930, I’m also working on a series of paintings that will tell the story of the J class. Plenty to keep me busy

Seascapes and Wave Paintings

For some years now I have been painting Seascapes and Wave Paintings, These works evolved out of a desire to improve my sea painting techniques . In these paintings I can explore the rhythm and movement of the ocean along with studying the interaction of light on its surface. Painting waves has been a nice diversion from the exactitude of my historical marines and they allow me to be free and more expressive in my brush work recharging me and leaving me fresh and inspired for my next marine painting.

I am at my happiest when I am on or by the water and when I paint I bring the sea home to me. 

Last year Palm Avenue Fine Art Sarasosta put a great Video together about me and my recent artistic journey