You can get a clue as to the origin or present home port of a fishing boat by decoding its official registration number, usually painted somewhere visible on stern or bow. Taken from first and last letter, PE declares Penzance, FY Fowey and so on.

Artist James Willis has a BA Hons in Fine Art and Music, as well as an MA in the History of Art. He was the resident artist at the Sir John Soanes’ museum for some years and runs lectures on painting techniques and concepts.

When did you first start painting?

I was born and grew up in Ukraine and at the age of 7 I was placed in an institution for disabled children due to a misdiagnosis. To escape the harsh realities I found comfort in painting and drawing and after 5 years of living in an extremely sterile environment, one of the teachers noticed my abilities and encouraged my parents to enrol me in to Art School.

Baugh’s work can be described as narrative impressionistic realism. When he was only 21 years old, Baugh began showing in galleries and after four years of studying with artist Richard Schmid, he had his first solo show at age 25.