During the early part of his life his paintings, though skilled, were untrained and unlike the style he later adopted. They were mostly of landscapes, painted from a distance, and showed little obvious regard for the degree of accuracy he adopted in his later work.
This pencilled 'title' appears inside the front cover of a foolscap notebook into which are pasted a number or watercolour paintings dating from this early period in his life. They have never been displayed, mounted or framed and are as fresh as the day they were painted. Two of them appear below.
After he left the Monastic community at Caldey Island in 1924, he took up writing and painting as his profession. He specialised in watercolours of fishing vessels and ports, and by now, following his architectural training, his style began to reflect this. He would often scale the outlines of his paintings from photographs using a grid to ensure absolute accuracy of perspective. His choice of a subtle range of pastel colours resulted in a style which was both pleasing, and distinctive.
The above is an undated watercolour / ink wash, bearing the title 'A Fleet of Smacks, c.1887'
At the end of the Second World War he was commissioned by the Irish Government to study their fishing industry. During a six week period he visited every fishing port in Ireland, and photographed, drew and painted as much as he could. Below is a typical example from this period of research, part of 'Tyrrell's Yard, Arklow, 5/6/45'.
During the last five years of his life, Peter Anson devoted his time to trying to complete a "Panorama" of the Scottish fishing industry. Many of the paintings made at this time were from photographs taken much earlier in his life.
Above, Portessie, 1973; below, Steam Drifters with Nets Down, c. 1921, painted in 1973. This is one of very few attempts by Anson to paint night scenes, and its style is almost a return towards that of his earliest paintings.
Strong colours figure much more in these later works, as he worked hard to complete what he perhaps perceived as his 'mission'. His main aim was
"...to produce a realistic record which could be understood by ordinary folk."
There can be no doubt that, in his wide choice of everyday scenes for his inspiration, he achieved his aim.
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