A Valentine Tree
Category: Trees
Villa Panza
Villa Panza is a grand 18th century mansion in the hillside suburb of Biumo Superiore, overlooking the city of Varese. It was the home of Count Giuseppe Panza, art collector and a great champion of Minimalist and Conceptual Art. He bought his first painting in 1956, by Antoni Tàpies and in 1966 he began collecting work by Brice Marden, Richard Serra and James Turrell. In 1996 the house was donated to the nation and opened to the public after major restoration work in 2000. Continue reading “Villa Panza”
Arboretum
Ivon Hitchens, Oak Tree in Purple Woods, Southampton City Art Gallery
In 2013 St Barbe Museum in Lymington organised an exhibition entitled Under the Greenwood: Picturing British Trees (accompanied by an impressive book published by Sansom). The exhibition was curated by Tim Craven of Southampton Art Gallery, himself a painter. Continue reading “Arboretum”
A Partridge In A Pear Tree
I’m not going to pretend a partridge in a pear tree is the most original of Christmas card ideas but I had been drawing a lot of birds and a lot of fruit and it did fit the brief rather nicely so I didn’t drift too far for inspiration. Continue reading “A Partridge In A Pear Tree”
Running Women
Two women appear on a hill. Free, they run down the hill together. Still free, they choose to run back up, and then run some more.
I only just discovered this little video by Adam Lerman a couple of days ago and already it’s my favourite movie of 2014. Trees, women, freedom, plus a great soundtrack. What more do you need?
Wittenham Clumps
A couple of weeks before our walk around Burnham Beeches, I walked to Wittenham Clumps with Andrew Walton. We’d done the same walk five years earlier and afterwards Andrew had painted this little watercolour as a memento, here brightening up my sad old workshop wall. That was in the days before this blog; now I was keen to retrace our steps and record them for Frames of Reference. Continue reading “Wittenham Clumps”
Burnham Beeches
A couple of weeks earlier we walked in Burnham Beeches, where, according to England in Particular – the largest assembly in the world (of pollarded and coppiced beeches) still stands… acquired by the Corporation of the City of London in 1880 to protect it from development. Continue reading “Burnham Beeches”
Autumn Song
A walk on Hampstead Heath a couple of weeks ago, just as the leaves began to turn, trying to catch the low sun shining through golden leaves, the dappled light that takes your breath away. Continue reading “Autumn Song”
Balbianello
We came to Lake Como thinking we’d visit a few of the local gardens. We’d seen Monty Don’s Italian Gardens but we’d not committed it to memory. Then when we arrived we were told – if you visit only one garden be sure it’s Balbianello, it’s perfect. This is how it looks from the lake. Continue reading “Balbianello”
Up To Pigra
Next day we took the cable car up Monte Pasquella, from Argegno to Pigra. It’s called a funivia, which translates as a ropeway (not funny street) rather than a funicolare which runs along tracks. Cable cars can be a bit more bouncy than funiculars! Continue reading “Up To Pigra”