..at The Burrell Collection is excellent

 and on a sunny day the interiors are beautiful. Never tire of it and will be back to see tis exhibition again.

The SMK in Copenhagen is a wonderful place - the collection, the architecture, the cafe and the shop - loved the shop!
gallery
Everything spacious and airy and clean, and everything in Copenhagen seems to work. I find the city and the gallery  very elegant and at the same time friendly.

The huge modern extension is gorgeous.

We especially wanted to see the collection of Hammershoi's work, which didn't disappoint. He paints two of my favourite things - silence and empty space. I can see why he is sometimes called the Vermeer of the north.

There is nothing like the thrill of standing in front of the original. What a brave painter Matisse was!
I came across the Matisse unexpectedly - I know this painting well from reproductions and did not know the original was here. How different from Hammershoi - extrovert and vibrant.

I love them both.

..in Port Glasgow is as you would expect, about shipping.

Note the scale!

This however is my favourite. Possibly my favourite public art anywhere. It says so much so eloquently and elegantly.
Four ferries are now being built in Turkey, so I hope the future of Ferguson's can be secured.

See here

Painterly is how I woud describe this photograph. The textures and the subtle greys contrasted with the zingy lime green, which is the same green as the leaf of the snowdrop.. this appeals to me. The composition is not quite balanced. The subject is down towards one corner, and is nearly, but not quite balanced by the dark tone on the top right. This creates a tension which keeps me looking, in a way that a perfectly baanced more traditional composition would not. I know I won't get tired of looking at this.

I will print it out quite small - just a few inches and frame it simply with a large white mount. I will hang it somewhere I will see it every day.

I won't title it The Suffering of The World though (even though it has those connotations for me). Can you think of a more poetic title which still suggests that fragility/resilience association it has for me? Perhaps conveying the idea of strength in adversity, or compassion for those who suffer.

I have loved your wonderful comments on this thread. Thank you so much for making a most interesting conversation.

.. if you have had enough of my obsession with this image!

I was  looking for things for my January nature table and my daughter proferred two tiny snowdrops (the green pot is just one inch high). The flowers were still closed and as I looked at it a wash of tenderness came over me, felt really towards my daughter but projected by me onto the snowdrops..

I decided to photograph them outside even though it was minus four out there. The frozen window of the shed  looked like a good place but I had to prop up the little pot with a pebble on the sloping ledge. I knew as I was doing it that the stone was not quite right, but it was so cold I just made it do (it was interesting how many of you picked up on this). I  was struck by the snowdrops' fragility - why does it flower in January? But I was also in awe of its resilience.  Frost, snow, gales and rain - nothing stops it flowering. The recent wars have cast a long shadow on us all, and the images of suffering are seared into ur minds, and the two little bowed heads conjured up unbidden, media images of children  fragile and vulnerable, so that the photograph became for me soomething deeply moving and precious.

What a heavy weight of meaning to put onto two innocent flowers!

But I think this is what we do. The Quakers have a saying that something speaks to your condition. Each person brinngs to a work of art their own history and unique sensibilities.

Tomorrow I will write about the aesthetics and why I am having it framed, and then I will change the subject. Promise!

..of your interesting and  thoughtful comments on this image which I will leave up for a few days and perhaps
garner a few more comments (should you feel so inlcined!)  I am fascinated by how we look at art..

I am so taken with this image I will be writing more abuot it..



On this Burns Day I leave you with a quote from the bard -

Art moves you.

David Hockney.

As good a definition of art as I have heard.





Does this image move you? And if so, can you describe in what way? And why?

I would sincerely like to know.

I hesitated to publish yesterday's photo as it is so out of focus, but I realised it captured what I felt as I looked out of the window at the ferry so brightly lit, the lights of the houses on the far shore like a little row of hieroglyphs, the clouds lit by the light of the moon and the sweep of the grass verge as I sped by.

It was just an ordinary journey home but it looked and felt dramatic and exciting.

I may have to paint this, and perhaps it doesn't matter that my eyesight is out of focus if my mind and thoughts and feelings are still sharp! Thank you Karen for prompting these thoughts.

My friend artist Ian Barr is building a new studio. He is storing some of his Constructed Paintings in progtrss in a plan chest.

Each of the drawers is like a work of art.  See more of Ian's work here.

I am sure you all know how impressed I am wih the Danish concept of hygge. I have not written much about the equally impressive Swedish word  lagom - meaning something like enough for everyone/fairness. Then there is the Japanese  notion of wabi sabi but when I saw the title of this book I realised I was perhaps neglecting something of similar value in my own culture.

So I bought the book. I bought it at Carry Farm (with typical restraint, they only had this one title for sale).

The author is a lifestyle journalist and suggests that 'coorie' is now a trend, a movement. Well, why not? It's a lovely word I have known since childhood. Perhaps 'snuggle' is the closest translation. You might say 'Coorie in' to a child needing a little comfort and invite them to sit beside you and put your arm around them. Or you might 'Coorie doon' (down) as I have been doing for a few days nursing a cold.

It has in it affection and safety and a sense that right here right now, all is well. Such a winderful and important feeling to have. So I am all for promoting The Art of Coorie.

Cultural appropriation? No! Sharing of cultural ideas to my way of thinking.

Simply worth the trip to see this first work alone!

The Elizabeth Blackadder exhibition at the Scottish Gallery is to e seen in person if at all possible. The paintings have a life of their own which cannot be conveyed in reproduction.

Lunch at the National Gallery with friends then  a visit to the above made for a great day  out today.

It took twelve hours, five buses, two ferries, one train and one car to do it, so I should sleep soundly tonight!