Bounteous Sea

At the age of four Bellany was drawing the fishing boats in the village where he lived and images of fishermen, fish, boats and the sea have continued to figure in his paintings. Following a visit to Buchenwald concentration camp in 1967 his paintings became quite complex, using animals as symbols for death, guilt and sexual obsession. In around 1973, however, his style loosened and his colour became more hectic: birds and humans often merged. In the Ferens' example, draughtsmanship has been sacrificed for a lavish painterly effect with a rich and thick use of oil paint.