From the minute we stepped foot on the barge you could feel the history seeping out of it. Whether it be the cast ironmongery, the portholes or the beam of the ship. George's text is all about memory - the history of the boat - it wasn't about what it is now it's about what it was. I photographed the houseboat and wanted to take it back via paint to what it used to be - back to the future via whirlpools of paint. Guinness was drunk and influenced the palette of the paintings. The paintings started small and ended up big - a bit like the boat - it ended up small but started big.