Having a drawing book with one when out and about rewards, not only at the time as one hones drawing skills, but also later,.Then a drawing becomes a passport to remembering the sights, sounds and sensations experienced at that time. Yet, for me at least, I have realised that these drawings are a world apart from my usual metalpoint drawings. Does that matter? Who knows!
Read MoreUsing Art to Remind /
Symbols of past glory, of empire and and global reach, caravels and carracks still sail in Lisbon, woven in Persian 17th century carpets, painted on Japanese screens or even depicted in pavement cobblestones. All reminders of nearly six centuries of empire, for good or for bad. Seeing these emblematic ships at a moment when the Brexit furore is reaching a crescendo in England made me ponder the parallels of the erstwhile Portuguese and British Empires.
Read MoreNever Assume - in Art! /
Paul Signac’s St Briac, The Cross of the Seamen, 1885, was one of many reminders to me not to assume you know much about an artist’s oeuvre, no matter how many works you have seen. This exhibition, “From Monet to Matisse: Masterworks of French Impressionism from the Dixon Gallery and Gardens” was a collection of surprising and enlightening paintings that dusted out the cobwebs and made me learn more about the Impressionists.
Read MoreFinding Flowers in Lisbon /
While Portugal is famed for its tiles, frequently inspired by nature, a recent visit to Lisbon led me from one delight to the next in a celebration of man’s inventiveness in depicting flowers in a multiplicity of ways down the ages.
Read MoreOak Matters and Art in Derbyshire, England /
Haddon Hall, in the Derbyshire Peak District National Park, is a celebration of oaks. Its construction, contents, history and present day lands are hallmarked by oaks. It was thus an extraordinary place in which to be able to draw in metalpoint and prepare an exhibition for September 2019 about oaks and their future. Linking my passions for art and the environment are “Oak Matters”.
Read MoreWhen Art and Embroidery United - Part 2 /
Visiting master embroiderer Alain Dodier in Sainte Valiere, Southern France, was like straying into a medieval scriptorium, save that Alain is very much of our time Nonetheless, as he creates intricate vivid scenes in silk embroidery threads, using Bayeux stitching that harks back to the 11th century, his passion and dedication to historical detail and fidelity reminded me of the slow and painstaking creation of illuminated manuscripts that tell stories of great import to Western culture. His seven-meter panel about the Pilgrims’ Route to Santiago de Compostela is one such work.
Read MoreWhen Art and Embroidery Unite - Part 1 /
When art meets embroidery in a dark, complex historical tale of Southern France and takes five thousand hours to tell the story, this implies passion, skill, dedication and a deep sense of our need, in today’s world, not to indulge in such destruction. It is an amazing feat of story-telling.
Read MoreArt and Friendships /
Art is the most wonderful passport to making friends around the world. Sharing, learning, agreeing, disagreeing - friendships flourish and deepen over time. Many a time, art has been the bridge to making that friendship, just as it has down the ages for so many people.
Read MoreA Passion for Drawing /
Three exhibitions in New York, each by a superb artist in a different century, but all united by a lifelong passion to draw, draw, draw, anything and everything. For an artist, these current exhibitions are a wonderful reaffirmation of the central role drawing potentially plays in the development and creativity of an artist. Gainsborough, Delacroix, Wayne Thiebaud - three very dissimilar artists, yet they are all on the same page in a drawing book.
Read MoreQuarry "Cathedrals" /
Walking into the vast, cool, cream-golden chambers of the Aubigny limestone Quarry, in Taingy, Burgundy, is akin to entering a cathedral. Nature forms the stone originally, then man learns to work it to create and leave a history deep within the stone.
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