Boats, and more boats

I've avoided painting boats for a long time. Maybe because they're a bit twee? More likely because they're hard to draw. But this harbour called out to me. Full of working boats, and the mess that goes with them, on and off the quays.

I started with the watercolour-only painting on the right. A red boat with a small blue boat in front of it -and no, the blue boat is not floating on air. But when you're going for direct watercolour and it's your first time - ever - to paint boats, things are going to go out of control! That's my excuse, and I'll stick to it, anyway.

After so much colour, I decided to go for ink only, using a fountain pen with water-soluble ink, and a view about 90 degrees to the left, with the big fish-processing plant in the background and an orange boat in front of it (you'll have to believe me when I tell you it was orange!)

It was a sunny day, but cold in the shade, so I was wearing my wooly hat. The angle I wanted for my first sketch (with the yellow thing to attach your boat to - what are they called?) meant I was standing under some trees. I saw some ladies in summer dresses. But they stayed in the sun. Or maybe they were hardier than me?