Here is a little piece about Greg Becker if you can find it. I probably should have been able to edit it but that degree of sophistication is beyond me at the moment. Please go forward to 3:40 and continue until 7:20.
Plot 52
Weeds Of The Imagination
On seeing my book An Illustrated Allotment Alphabet people often ask ‘do you actually have an allotment?’ to which, slightly offended, I reply ‘Yes!’
But really, there is no reason why I should feel disappointed, particularly as plot 52, my allotment blog on which the book is based, has now largely become a work of fiction. Continue reading “Weeds Of The Imagination”
Retail Therapy
Gail Brodholt has two of her linocuts in this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. She’s had prints accepted before but this is the first time they’ve taken two and I think she’s a little excited. She’s probably opened the champagne by now. Continue reading “Retail Therapy”
George III Rides Away
The figure on the horse is George III riding away from Weymouth. The story goes that during a stay in the early 1800s he promised to give the town a substantial amount of money, so much that they carved a dedication in the local church with his name and a blank space for the exact amount, and gave a promise to carve a likeness on the hills rising behind the town. Unfortunately, he left leaving nothing. The locals were so angry they carved £000 after his name in the church and did indeed complete a likeness on the hills, but made it so he was riding away from the town (back to London).
Liz Somerville / The Rowley Gallery
Windsor’s Great Park
The enormous equestrian statue of George III looking down over Windsor Castle from the top of Snow Hill, pointing out incoming aeroplanes on their way to Heathrow. Continue reading “Windsor’s Great Park”
Gorgeous Georgians
Jazmin Velasco brought us these gouache portrait paintings of some of her Georgian heros and heroines. She’s framed them in pressed metal frames from Mexico, frames more often used for painted votive offerings to the saints (see also Mexican Miracle Paintings). Reading left to right and top to bottom they are Duke of Wellington; George Frideric Handel; Queen Charlotte; Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire; Lord Nelson and King George III. They would make very good miniature pub signs for very good miniature pubs. Here’s a link to what Jazmin wrote when she painted them.
Aung San Suu Kyi
There was increased security at The Rowley Gallery yesterday for the surprise visit of Aung San Suu Kyi. We thought maybe she was coming to see us but in fact she had a quiet birthday lunch across the street at Sally Clarke’s. As she left, crowds of well-wishers applauded her choice of restaurant.
At The Beach With Giotto (In Mind)
As a painter of beaches, when I saw the Giotto frescoes at the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua I was struck by how much parts of it resemble pools of water with angels swimming about in them. The azure of the ceiling and pale cerulean and pinky golds of the chapel walls look to me like a deep plunge pool flanked by sandy cliffs. Continue reading “At The Beach With Giotto (In Mind)”
Brangwyn’s Frieze No More
Three carved wooden panels made by Sir Frank Brangwyn for the facade of The Rowley Gallery in 1933 were destroyed in a fire last week at Chilford Hall. They had been part of The Rowley Gallery showroom until 1941, when the premises were hit by an incendiary bomb during WW2, but amazingly they survived that blaze only to be lost to arsonists 71 years later. Continue reading “Brangwyn’s Frieze No More”
Jelly In Nepal
Jelly Green just came back from four weeks in Nepal where, as well as trekking and paragliding and early morning yoga, she also did some local cow research, making drawings and taking photographs. Continue reading “Jelly In Nepal”