Illustrations influenced by Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey & Maturin canon. All illustrations have been sketched in pencil first, then worked up in ink, water colour and pencil crayon using the light box and edited on Photoshop.
Musical Interlude
The POB (Patrick O'Brian) books are integrated with musical interludes where he describes and builds on his character's relationships to a background of Scarlatti, Handel and Corelli. In Cpt J Aubrey's cabin, he and the ships surgeon, particular friend and 'political advisor' Dr S. Maturin scrape away at their stringed instruments in times of rest.
This water colour and pencil crayon image was taken from the fourth Novel 'The Mauritius Command', when Aubrey receives news of his son’s birth and attempts to compose a letter home whilst Maturin retrains his crippled fingers to fit his old cello.
Pollux Deffends the Lady's Honour
This illustration from the fifth novel, 'Desolation Island' features Louisa Wogan, a woman being transported to the Australia for espionage. Dr Maturin, who had been particularly close to Louisa as she reminded him of his one and only love Diana Villers, had been below decks for a good few weeks dealing with an outbreak of Gaol Fever and had grown a beard.
Here he is taking the air with Wogan on the poop deck of HMS Leopard when he is confronted by Lt Babbington's Newfoundland dog Pollux, who failed to recognise Maturin due to his new beard!
The Duel
'HMS Surprise', the third book in the series and the first novel I read.
Here, Dr Maturin is forced to call John Canning out on a duel after he assaults him and embarrass him in front of the woman he loves, Diana Villers, at their house in Bombay.
Though Maturin kills Canning effectively, cleanly and with a left handed shot, he didn't get away without taking a shot to his ribs. It is this wound that features in Peter Weir's 2004 movie 'Master and Commander', when the suffering Maturin operates on himself to remove the shot and the piece of fabric it took into his body with it.
The Sinking of the Waakzaamheid
In Prison wih Jagiello
This is an illustration from teh seventh novel 'Surgeon's Mate' of the inside of the Grand prison in Paris, where Cpt Aubrey and Dr Maturin along with thier Swedish companion Gedymin Jagiello are held as spys and captives of war.
Here Jagiello is perched waving to the pretty lady he first spots on the other side of the wall, the grand scheme is to get her to help them escape. Jack and Stephen have both resigned themselves to being too old for that sort of game so they leave it to him to woo her. Here they quip at his endevours.
Great Escapes
-unfinished-
This was the scenario that first captured my imagination in the canon. It comes from the third book, 'HMS Surprise'. Cpt Aubrey breaks into a French prison in Catalonia and sneaks into the torture room where the enemy had captured his dearest friend, Dr Maturin on grounds of espionage. The French had tortured him cruelly and had almost completely rendered his hands useless until Aubrey flies to his rescue.
Swash buckling at its best.
Here you can see Barret Bonden, Aubrey's coxs'n, cut Maturin free from a rack used for stretching and breaking people whilst Aubrey threatens the prison guard with the little French he speaks.
Stranded
A painting inspired by a description from the third book 'HMS Surprise'. Whilst becalmed, Dr Maturin rows out to a rocky island to investigate some birds as part of his natural philosophical interests. whilst he has his head in nest (a common theme throughout the novels) a sudden squall picks up and blows HMS Surprise away, leaving him stranded for days. He famously survives this ordeal by drinking from little puddles of rain water filled with bird poo!
Dr S. MAturin. Cello
Dr S. Maturin. Fencing
