17 December 2015
Six art works painted by local artist Bill Flowers on board Spirit of Tasmania day sailings have been donated to the Lions Club of Devonport which will in turn donate the paintings to deserving local schools.
Painted as part of the locally-produced Creature Tales entertainment program in 2014, the paintings depict the fate of the crew of the Sydney Cove under the series title The Castaways of Preservation Island.
The Sydney Cove was a sailing ship wrecked on Preservation Island in the late 1790s.
Spirit of Tasmania general manager Retail and Hospitality Nick Harriman said Creature Tales developed the program that saw the artist interpret stories delivered on board by maritime presenter Will Oliver.
“Creature Tales is an annual educational and engaging program we operate on day sailings for adult and children passengers,” he said.
“Spirit of Tasmania asked Creature Tales to develop some maritime themes for the program.
“As a result, passengers saw Bill speed paint his works live. The whole thing was very well received by our passengers.”
Significant preparation work was required to ensure a quality painting could be completed in a short time frame – each painting benefited from hours of composition designed and planning drawings before the actual day.
The paintings have been on display at the Maritime Centre for the past six months.
Mr Harriman said Spirit of Tasmania and Creature Tales were very pleased that Bill Flowers had been provided with an avenue to showcase his work at the Maritime Centre.
“For its part, the Maritime Centre has benefited from having a unique exhibition on display that focuses on a unique maritime story,” he said.
The value of each painting is valued at between $600 and $900.
-ends-
Contact:
Soniya Cooper
Communications Manager
scooper@spiritoftasmania.com.au / 03 9206 6220 / 0438 393 898
