Ships of State Studio - Maritime Art by Kerry McCoy

Home
Ships of State Studio - Maritime Art by Kerry McCoy

Maritime Artwork by Kerry McCoy

08/12/2024

Prints of "Farewell, Ireland" are now available for purchase! Visit the store at www.shipsofstatestudio.com to buy your print!

07/12/2024

The time has finally come to reveal this very special piece.

Introducing:

"Queen of the Seas"

This portrait shows RMS Olympic as new in 1911 in mid-Atlantic. It was voluntarily produced specially for the RMS Olympic Steinway Association.

A HUGE shout out to the master maritime artist Stephen Card for his kind and patient mentoring during the creation of this piece.

If you haven't visited the association website, please do and consider donating to help save Olympic's original 1913 Steinway piano from her first-class reception area. Your donation will help us acquire this beautiful instrument to allow future generations to appreciate it for years to come. You can donate at www.rmsolympicpiano.com.

Please enjoy!

Artwork ©️Kerry McCoy/Ships of State Studio 2024.

21/11/2024

New drawing!

"Farewell, Ireland"

11"x17"

Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils on Strathmore 300 Series Bristol

It is a little after 5:00PM ship's time on April 11th, 1912. RMS Titanic, the world's largest and most luxurious transatlantic liner, has just passed Fastnet Rock and its 1904 lighthouse as she speeds out into the open Atlantic. A few hours earlier, she had left Queenstown - her last port of call before heading for New York. Queenstown is a more recent stop on the White Star Line's express transatlantic passenger service, having been added as a scheduled westbound stop in 1909.

Fastnet Rock marks the southernmost point of Ireland, and this is the last that many Irish immigrants would see of their homeland as they set out in search of a new and more promising life in the New World. They had bid their families farewell and travelled by horse-drawn carts and by train to Queenstown, where they would board the "Ship of Dreams" bound for America. In this particular case, this is the last that 1,496 men, women, and children will see of land in mortality.

Among these brave, stalwart immigrants those known as the Addergoole 14, a small group of close friends and family members from Laherdane, a small village in the Addergoole parish in County Mayo. They all boarded Titanic as third class passengers and experienced food and accommodations greater than they could ever have imagined at home. Tragically, only three of them would survive the sinking.

Artwork ©️Kerry McCoy/Ships of State Studio 2024.

01/11/2024

Although 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤 was designed and built with lavish luxury in mind, she still made excellent time on her many voyages. It wasn't uncommon for her to regular sail at speeds of 21-22 knots.

As a troop transport during WWI, she was still - like any other ship - highly vulnerable to the enemy lurking below the waves. On May 12, 1918, while traversing the English Channel, she spotted the German submarine U-103 and opened fire with her 6-in. guns. Captain Bertram Hayes immediately changed course and charged at the submarine, and as the enemy crash-dived, 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤 struck the submarine aft of the conning tower and her port propeller sliced open the pressure hull, resulting in the submarine's loss. Some of the American troops on board at the time paid for a special plaque to be made and mounted in one of Olympic's lounges to commemorate the event, and the soldiers gave her the nickname "Old Reliable."

On September 4th, the German submarine U-53 torpedoed 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤 in the English Channel, but the missile's warhead failed to detonate. During 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤's refit back to commercial service following the war, a large dent in her plating with a crack in the middle was discovered below the waterline. She had proven to be a lucky ship indeed.

The RMS Olympic Steinway Association is working to save one of 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤's beautiful hand-crafted Steinway pianos for future generations. Please consider donating to save this important piece of one of history's most beautiful transatlantic liners.

www.rmsolympicpiano.com

28/10/2024

As designed, 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤 and 𝘛𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 each carried a total of 20 lifeboats: fourteen clinker-built standard boats, two emergency cutters, and four Englehardt collapsible boats. The number of boats supplied was in accordance with the existing Board of Trade regulations.

However, these regulations were considerably outdated. They were perfectly applicable at the turn of the century when passenger vessels generally displaced around 14,000 GRT. By 1910, with the debut of the Olympic-class liners, this figure had already nearly tripled. This, of course, meant a far greater passenger capacity.

The inadequacy of these regulations soon manifested itself in the worst way imaginable. At 11:40PM on April 14th, 1912, 𝘛𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 collided with an iceberg little more than halfway across the Atlantic on her maiden voyage. As she was considered "unsinkable" and inherently safe, many of those on board didn't feel any sense of urgency to enter the lifeboats, electing to stay aboard a ship that felt safe, but in reality was imperceptibly sinking beneath their feet. By 2:00AM on April 15th, nearly all the lifeboats had left the foundering liner. It was now apparent to all - and to the complete and utter horror of those still on board - that 𝘛𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 was doomed. More than half of the passengers and crew remained on board to face the inevitable. Their fateful lot would be the icy clutches of the cruel, cold, dark Atlantic.

At 2:20AM, after breaking in two, 𝘛𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 plunged into the abyss. She would claim 1,496 souls and leave 712 cold, shivering, and terrified survivors alone under a vast expanse of stars and with the awful screams of the dying left in the frigid water.

𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤 was about 500 nautical miles to the south and was eastbound when she received the distress call from her stricken sister. Captain Herbert Haddock immediately set course for 𝘛𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 at full speed. On the way, the news went out that 𝘛𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 was gone and that the survivors had been rescued by the Cunard liner 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘢. When Captain Haddock asked if they could assist with the survivors, Captain Arthur Rostron of 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘢 declined, saying that the survivors would certainly be traumatized at the appearance of the identical sister of the ship whose untimely loss they had just survived.

𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤 thus turned and resumed course for home. All on-board events and activities were canceled for the remainder of the voyage. A solemn, melancholy spirit rested heavily on the passengers and crew. She arrived in Plymouth with her flags at half-mast as a gesture of mourning.

The RMS Olympic Steinway Association is working to save one of 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤's beautiful hand-crafted Steinway pianos for future generations. Please consider donating to save this important piece of one of history's most beautiful transatlantic liners.

www.rmsolympicpiano.com

24/10/2024

Getting closer!

23/10/2024

After her public debut in Liverpool, 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤 headed to Southampton, arriving on June 3, 1911. The following week was spent making her ready for her maiden voyage, stocking her with food, provisions, and coal. The 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤-class ships were very economical to operate. Each used about 650 tons of coal per day, compared to contemporary rival liners such as Cunard's 𝘈𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢 and HAPAG's 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳, each of which used around 1,000 tons per day.

𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤 sailed on her maiden voyage on June 14th, making calls at Cherbourg and Queenstown. She arrived in New York on the morning of June 21 to great fanfare and excitement. Thus began the long and storied career of one of the most beautiful liners in history.

The RMS Olympic Steinway Association is working to save one of Olympic's beautiful hand-crafted Steinway pianos for future generations. Please consider donating to save this important piece of one of history's most beautiful transatlantic liners.

www.rmsolympicpiano.com

19/10/2024

A sneak peek of what's coming soon!

17/10/2024

Launched on October 20, 1910, 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤 was completed in May of the following year. She underwent successful sea trails on May 29, 1911 and was in Belfast when her sister 𝘛𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 was launched two days later. That afternoon, she was signed over to her new owners and given a Board of Trade certification for passenger service, which was valid for one year.

She departed for Liverpool that evening to be shown to the public as the world's largest and most luxurious ocean liner. The proceeds from the public debut benefitted local charities.

She then sailed for Southampton, where she would prepare for her maiden voyage - the first voyage in a long and storied career.

The RMS Olympic Steinway Association is working to save one of 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤's beautiful hand-crafted Steinway pianos for future generations. Please consider donating to save this important piece of one of history's most beautiful transatlantic liners.

www.rmsolympicpiano.com

14/10/2024

It's the dawn of the 20th century. In the roughly eighty years since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, science and technology has advanced in leaps and bounds. One of these technologies is the centuries-old art of shipbuilding.

Harland and Wolff shipyard, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is the heartbeat of of the thriving capital city. Employing thousands of riveters, boilermakers, woodworkers and other artisans, they are the premier shipbuilder for the White Star Line, founded by Thomas Henry Ismay in 1869.

Between 1904 and 1906, Harland and Wolff begins preparations to build a new class of liners of unprecedented size and grandeur. On December 16, 1908, the keel was laid for the first of these great ships. She would be named:

𝘖𝘓𝘠𝘔𝘗𝘐𝘊

The RMS Olympic Steinway Association is working to save one of Olympic's beautiful hand-crafted Steinway pianos for future generations. Please consider donating to save this important piece of one of history's most beautiful transatlantic liners.

www.rmsolympicpiano.com

13/10/2024

Pushing hard to finish up this piece (for real this time!), hopefully in the next week. Feels great to be back in the groove!

Address

Website

http://www.shipsofstatestudio.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Ships of State Studio - Maritime Art by Kerry McCoy posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Ships of State Studio - Maritime Art by Kerry McCoy:

Shortcuts

Address
Alerts
Contact The Establishment
Claim ownership or report listing
Want your establishment to be the top-listed Arts & Entertainment?

Country:

City: