Mixed media Acrylic 20cm square, on clayboard cradle panel with collage, papers, oil pastel

In an homage to grandmaster portraits of old; cartoon collage “Portraits” of some of the most infamous pirates are presented in dark tonal backgrounds and finished with chalky pastel contour drawing.    The 6 square blocks can be hung together as a grid to provide an interesting composition as a whole.

 

Part of a series inspired by and painted on board Sailing Boat “Island Girl” 

 H2O OCEAN, BEACH ,HARBOUR ,COVE how we live by the sea.  

1 Anne Bonney 1697-1721 Irish, one of the few female pirates in recorded history, operating in the Caribbean, captured along with Jack Rackham in 1721 but avoided hanging (due to pregnancy), was never seen of again.

2. Calico Jack  b. John Rackham (years active 1718-1720) an English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the golden years of piracy.  Settled in New Providence where he met Anne Bonney.  Later captured and sentenced to hanging.

3. Zheng Yi Sao 1775-1844 aka Ching Shih, was a Chinese pirate leader who was active in the South China Sea from 1801 to 1810. Born as Shi Yang in 1775 to humble origins, she married a pirate named Zheng Yi at age 26 in 1801. Her criminal status was later pacified, and named Zheng Yi Sao by the people of Guangdong.

4  Sir Francis Drake.     Years active: 1563–1596 (state sponsored)
English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician.  Wealth: Est. Equiv. US$144.7 million in 2021;

5 Charles Vane (years active 1716-1721)- active in Caribbean an English pirate who operated in the Bahamas during the end of the Golden Age of Piracy.

6 Charlotte de Berry female pirate captain died Coast of Africa 1636.   In her mid-to-late teens, she fell in love with a sailor.   Disguised as a man, she followed him on board his ship and fought alongside him. Her true identity was discovered by an officer who kept this knowledge to himself, wanting de Berry.