Bermudian Stephen Card is regarded as one of the world’s finest marine artists. As such, his work is very much sought after and highly prized, and his exhibitions are eagerly awaited.For local aficionados, the good news is that the two-year wait since his last show at the Windjammer II gallery is now over, and his latest exhibition of more than 21 oils opens this week.In fact, barely one week after the end of his last show, which saw his work flying off the walls, the gallery booked Mr Card for this year’s event, and he began working almost immediately on the new collection.Entitled ‘Exhibition of Marine Paintings’, the latest show will feature “a mixture of sail and steam” vessels in a variety of geographical settings, including Bermuda, New York, London, Scotland, Norway and Cape Town.Among the many attributes which make Mr Card’s paintings so striking is his attention to detail. They are not technical drawings but historically accurate portraits. To achieve this, he is an inveterate researcher who goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure that what he captures with his brushes is correct.The process begins with downloading images of a chosen vessel from as many angles as possible. In order not to be distracted by colour photography, which is not completely accurate, he works from black and white images. He copies nothing, but uses the images as a first reference.In addition, Mr Card draws upon a worldwide network of people and places he has known and visited, both as a master mariner and as a professional marine artist. In fact, his knowledge of the vessels he portrays is almost encyclopedic, which makes for fascinating listening whether he is engaged in conversation or addressing an audience.There are many reasons why the artist has chosen the particular vessels featured in his latest exhibition, which include the Queen of Bermuda, the ill-fated Lady Hawkins, the sailboat Chicane, which is now owned by a Bermuda family; gentleman privateer Hezekiah Frith’s Experiment with ‘Spithead’, his family home in Warwick, in the background; a pilot gig off St David’s; the Royal Mail Line’s Thessaly in Hamilton Harbour; and the Bermuda-built clipper brigantine Harvest Queen, to name but a few.Ongoing professional affiliations with the Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Costa Shipping Company and Saga, for whom Mr Card has completed many commissioned portraits of their vessels, are also reflected in the show.Those who still affectionately remember the former Furness Bermuda Line’s Queen of Bermuda will no doubt delight in the artist’s fresh perspective of this much-loved vessel. In fact, he describes the current version as his “bucket painting”.“This is one painting that I have always planned to do, and wanted to do one day, so if I didn’t do another painting this would be my pride and joy,” Mr Card said.“When the Queen ran her sea trials in 1955 it was on the Clyde in Scotland. Traditionally, vessels sailed along the shoreline off Arran, past markers used to measure their speed. Publicity photographs were always taken at a spot called Glen Sannox because of the dramatic mountain backdrop. However, when I discovered that the Queen did not do her trials off Glen Sannox but at Skelmorlie, where there was no decent background, I was determined to paint her as she might have looked at Glen Sannox.”Since the trials took place in February, Mr Card has painted the famous mountains covered in snow, which provides a very different backdrop.Those viewing his painting of the RMS Orcades could be forgiven for thinking the artist has taken some artistic license with the hull colour, which appears to be peach toned.“The colour was actually ‘Orient corn’ — the shipping line’s interpretation of yellow,” Mr Card said.The Lady Hawkins is shown in Bermuda waters. The Canadian National Steamships vessel, along with her sister ships, Lady Drake, Lady Rodney, Lady Somers and Lady Nelson (popularly known as “the Ladyboats”), regularly sailed between Canada, the Island, and the Caribbean.Portraying the Lady Hawkins is particularly poignant because she was torpedoed by a German U-boat on January 19, 1942 off the coast of Cape Hatteras while en route to the Island, with the loss of 251 lives. At least one relative of the 71 survivors lives in Bermuda today.Chicane will also strike a chord with local viewers as it is now owned by a Bermuda family. Mr Card, however, has chosen to portray her in her earlier UK life as a gaff-rigged cruising cutter sailing past the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, Isle of Wight circa 1930.A small 17th century Bermuda sloop is seen sailing off St John, Newfoundland on her way home from a fishing trip to the Grand Banks.The German cruise ship Hamburg is portrayed in a Norwegian fjord, where the steeply rising, dark green mountains provide a dramatic backdrop for the white-hulled, red-trimmed vessel.The US Coast Guard cutter Cherokee, which spent time based in local waters as a US Navy salvage and rescue tug, is shown on Atlantic patrol.As always, this hugely talented marine artist excels not just in the detail of the vessels themselves, but also in the carefully considered, complementary backgrounds which enhance them. Geographic backgrounds reflect genuine locations which the vessels have visited, while skies, seas and the direction of light are specifically chosen to produce the best overall colour composition.As befits a former sea captain, Mr Card’s approach to the background paperwork is as meticulous as the paintings themselves. A large, detailed month-by-month chart tracks the status quo of works completed and underway, and a comprehensive album holds photographic records of all finished pieces, together with details of selected frame sizes and styles.With a few blank canvases still to be filled at the time of our interview, the artist was not worried.“They’re already in my head, and I’ll get them done in time,” he assured.He did joke, however, that one painting, which made it to the last show lacking some finishing touches, might still show up in the same condition, although he hoped otherwise.l The exhibit opens on Friday and continues through November 8. The Windjammer II Gallery is located in the Fairmont Hamilton Princess hotel. For more information telephone 295-1783 or e-mail windjammer2@logic.bm