EARLY MORNING, NEWLYN, 1926... (My new poem inspired by Dod Procter's painting...)

 Early Morning, Newlyn, 1926…

(My new poem inspired by Dod Procter’s painting…)

Peace becalms the jumbled huddle of cottages and each stylised terraced house,

The angled roofs stripped clean of lichen, guano and lumps of moss. 

Soot-topped chimneys belch out no smoke, suggesting a warmer season

And the absence of gulls, although unaccountable, is really rather engaging…

The harbour’s jointed arms, like a crab’s claws enfold the quay, 

Where moored and tucked luggers shelter upon the calm sky-blue ocean

Of early morning Newlyn…   

There are no raucous screams of gulls, nor clamour from the fishing industry, which might rouse

The locals and there is no lighthouse to guide boats, whose irrevocable loss

In heavy storms could cripple the villagers’ lives beyond all reason.

The absence of more than a couple of folks, although unaccountable, is encouraging

And the enclosing granite arms one hundred years on, still nurse the boundary

Of the harbour for trawlers and crabbers and hand-liners which will soon set in motion

From early morning Newlyn…

Pete Ray…

2nd March 2026…    

Newlyn…

One of my favourite places to see, explore and photograph…

There is now a lighthouse at the end of the right-hand harbour-arm and the roofs are no longer stylised and tidy, like in Dod Procter’s smart painting!

One hundred years have passed since the artist produced this work… 

The thoughts of an independent source, The Sand Martin...

‘This painted view of Newlyn Harbour from the higher vantage point of the hill above looks almost like a photograph. The buildings and rooftops are very precisely depicted with delicate pale grey-white shades giving an impressionistic idea of slates. By contrast the pale orange chimneys and coping stones on the rooftops help to sharpen and delineate the shapes of the assorted roof areas. 

Similarly the greyish-purple areas in the shade stand out, comprised of various types of triangles that cleverly help to show the pitch of each roof area. They appear in parts to almost tessellate as they

fit together so perfectly in quite a graphic style.

The properties themselves are tantalising because one sees mainly rooftops and just a few house walls and windows, peaking the interest as to the full view of the homes clustered together.

Looking beyond, one sees the exquisitely deep blue shade of the calm sea and the harbour with three boats safely moored. Perhaps more are out at sea, having fished overnight.

The stout harbour wall indicates that the sea in these parts can be ferocious and the ocean beyond is depicted as being rather less calm than within the safety of the harbour.

From the soft green shades of the hillside to the colours used in the buildings and rooftops, this is mostly a calm and gentle picture with early sunlight illuminating the bright white of the buildings in the foreground. 

There is a beautiful juxtaposition of light and shade that makes the eye linger and wonder about the properties. The odd bright emerald green patch of garden and areas of lighter green by the harbour wall with a hint of yellow lichen on one roof, all balance this painting so beautifully.

The people walking along the harbour wall tell us that the day has begun in this corner of paradise where the sea beyond can be a living hell for those simply trying to earn a living and longing for the safety of the harbour that is Newlyn.'