While a love of ships is a necessary prerequisite for marine artist, success is very much dependant on mastery of the difficult skills of capturing the changing moods of the sea and sky. Admirers of Yorkshire marine artists Jack Rigg's work invariably cite his treatment of the sea and sky as the main attraction of his work and perhaps the greatest tribute to his skills is the fact that fishermen are among the biggest buyers of his pictures. Jack, who was born in Farsley, near Leeds in 1927 and spent his early life in the textile industry, gained his love of the sea during  service in the Royal Navy and that fired the creative urge ha had since a boy. The creativity was curbed in boyhood because he could not afford to paint and his only outlet was sketching on scraps of paper. he was a family man in his thirties before he started serious painting in his spare time in the 1960's. he found he could tackle almost any subject and his painting began to sell locally, but right from the outset he had a preference for marine paintings- and so did the buyers. In 1978 he took the decision to give up work and take up painting professionally. Since then Jack Rigg has become one of the leading marine artists. His work has encompassed much of the British coastline and the vessels which sail around it. The quality and individuality of his work is attributed to the fact that every painting begins with in situ sketches. he never copies from other illustrations or photographs; and while he might refer to photographs he has taken himself for the fine detail of vessels, etc. the scene is real - a faithful reproduction of what his eye saw and his sketchpad captured on a particular day in a specific place. Such work is not dashed off in days and a Jack Rigg painting can be three months or more in the making, from the first sketches to the final brushstrokes. In addition to his own creations, Jack Rigg is regularly commissioned by vessel owners and marine organisations. Resulting from such commissions, his paintings or reproductions of them have finished up in places as eminent as Buckingham Palace here, and The White House on the other side of the Atlantic. In 1991 HRH Duchess of York signed a limited edition print which was auctioned later and raised over £1,000 for charity. In recent years a Jack Rigg painting has been selected for the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fisherman's Christmas card - with the print run being increased each time to meet the growing demand. A Jack Rigg calendar, Christmas and greetings cards are also now produced. He receives letters form all over the world from people who have seen and admired his work and has sold paintings as far afield as the United States, the Middle East and Australia.

Limited edition prints of some of Jack Rigg's best known paintings are already collector's items.