Contemporary, portrait, landscape, painting, best, top ten, paintings, oil, artist, artists, gallery, life, figure, graphite, sketch, Snowdonia, drawings, pencil, Art, geometry, composition, Master, Masterpiece, Welsh, Wales.
Contemporary, portrait, landscape, painting, best, top ten, paintings, oil, artist, artists, gallery, life, figure, graphite, sketch, Snowdonia, drawings, pencil, Art, geometry, composition, Master, Masterpiece, Welsh, Wales.
At the moment I'm getting a few paintings together for a group exhibition which is to be held in Saddleworth Museum and Gallery in Uppermill (from Saturday 20th January until February 18th). The exhibition has an interesting premise.
Many moons ago, (in the 1950's!) I attended a great school - The Manchester High School of Art, which was a junior art school - based in Manchester, England. It enrolled pupils from the age of eleven.
Initially, (I joined late, when I was around thirteen and a half years old) I confess that I probably arrived at the school with a somewhat inflated view of my own artistic ability (having previously had only fairly average competition at the secondary school I attended), so I got a hell of a shock when I saw the brilliant standard of the pupils at the junior art school.
It struck me that these young artists must be the cream of the artistic talent of Manchester. And I had to work very, very hard in my attempts to catch up.
Everyone else of course also worked very hard, and at the end of our school years, we all went our different ways. Some into graphics, some into fine art, some into teaching, and so on.
However, a couple of years ago, ten of us, managed to meet up. And to our delight we discovered that all of us, after all these years, were still painting. A range of very different styles, of course, but all still painting.
The exhibition aims to show some of the different aesthetic paths that we have taken.
Here are a few examples of work that may be on show.
Firstly some Steve Cappers........
N.B., Click on images to zoom.
'The Old Trees'
Steve Capper
'Lillies'
Steve Capper
'Still Life with Blue Vase'
Steve Capper
'Steve Capper is an artist who sits firmly in the tradition of northern school expressionism, but whose bold and contemporary use of colour, and willingness to experiment with texture places him at the forefront of those who are taking visual motifs of northern art in a new direction.'
Gateway Gallery
..and then some wonderful water colours by Ron McSweeney....
'Cannaregio Canal, Venice'
Ron McSweeney
'The Daisy Chain'
Ron McSweeney
...plus a couple of gems from Philip Hughes...
by Philip Hughes
by Philip Hughes
...followed by a couple of sensitive and evocative paintings from Ted Bates...
'On the Thames at Hampton Court'
Ted Bates
Oil on Canvas
'Piccadilly Adrift'
Ted Bates
Oil on Canvas
...and some characteristically outstanding work by John McCombs.....
'Riverside Cottages, Delph, Summer'
John McCombs
'Dale Lane, Delph, Winter'
John McCombs
...followed by a couple of wonderfully invigorating works by David Ralston....
'High Street, Oldham'
David Ralston
'Somewhere'
David Ralston
...and finally, I'll be showing this painting, (which won first prize at the WSA show), plus a few others.
'View Down the Valley'
Harry Robertson
At the moment I'm getting a few paintings together for a group exhibition which is to be held in Saddleworth Museum and Gallery in Uppermill (from Saturday 20th January until February 18th). The exhibition has an interesting premise.
Many moons ago, (in the 1950's!) I attended a great school - The Manchester High School of Art, which was a junior art school - based in Manchester, England. It enrolled pupils from the age of eleven.
Initially, (I joined late, when I was around thirteen and a half years old) I confess that I probably arrived at the school with a somewhat inflated view of my own artistic ability (having previously had only fairly average competition at the secondary school I attended), so I got a hell of a shock when I saw the brilliant standard of the pupils at the junior art school.
It struck me that these young artists must be the cream of the artistic talent of Manchester. And I had to work very, very hard in my attempts to catch up.
Everyone else of course also worked very hard, and at the end of our school years, we all went our different ways. Some into graphics, some into fine art, some into teaching, and so on.
However, a couple of years ago, ten of us, managed to meet up. And to our delight we discovered that all of us, after all these years, were still painting. A range of very different styles, of course, but all still painting.
The exhibition aims to show some of the different aesthetic paths that we have taken.
Here are a few examples of work that may be on show.
Firstly some Steve Cappers........
N.B., Click on images to zoom.
'The Old Trees'
Steve Capper
Steve Capper
'Lillies'
Steve Capper
Steve Capper
'Still Life with Blue Vase'
Steve Capper
Steve Capper
'Steve Capper is an artist who sits firmly in the tradition of northern school expressionism, but whose bold and contemporary use of colour, and willingness to experiment with texture places him at the forefront of those who are taking visual motifs of northern art in a new direction.'
Gateway Gallery
..and then some wonderful water colours by Ron McSweeney....
'Cannaregio Canal, Venice'
Ron McSweeney
'The Daisy Chain'
Ron McSweeney
...plus a couple of gems from Philip Hughes...
by Philip Hughes
by Philip Hughes
'On the Thames at Hampton Court'
Ted Bates
Oil on Canvas
Oil on Canvas
'Piccadilly Adrift'
Ted Bates
Oil on Canvas
Oil on Canvas
...and some characteristically outstanding work by John McCombs.....
'Riverside Cottages, Delph, Summer'
John McCombs
'Dale Lane, Delph, Winter'
John McCombs
'High Street, Oldham'
'Dale Lane, Delph, Winter'
...followed by a couple of wonderfully invigorating works by David Ralston....
'High Street, Oldham'
David Ralston
'Somewhere'
David Ralston
...and finally, I'll be showing this painting, (which won first prize at the WSA show), plus a few others.
'View Down the Valley'
Harry Robertson
Harry Robertson
....and here is some additional info on the art school and the show itself:-
Of course, everyone is invited, so with luck we'll see you at the....
Saddleworth Museum and Gallery, 33 High St, Uppermill, Oldham OL3 6HS
01457 874093
Of course, everyone is invited, so with luck we'll see you at the....
Saddleworth Museum and Gallery, 33 High St, Uppermill, Oldham OL3 6HS
01457 874093
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
Who is wielding this hammer, and who painted him?
(The answer will be in the next posting.)
And here's the answer from the last posting -
by Jan Gossaert, 1530
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
"Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a coloured pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling."
G.K Chesterton
. . and now, a Recommended Read . .
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Music
Click here to find a few songs on YouTube, and I'll add more as time goes by.
Music
Beyond painting, my other preoccupation is music - particularly songwriting.
I've recently started, just for fun, linking the two preoccupations together, by featuring a few paintings along with one of my recorded songs. If you have a spare minute, you're welcome to take a look. . .
These songs can also be found on (and downloaded from) iTunes, Spotify, CDBaby, and many other platforms, - (my intention is to upload a different song each month)
Also in the last period I've been recording some songs with some friends - have a listen here if you have the time.
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Mussolini : A New Life
Nicholas Farrell
Nicholas Farrell
I was prompted to read this book after following the current antics of the supposedly left-wing Antifa (Anti-Fascist) movement, and being struck by how much they resemble in their style and actions the original Italian fascists. (The all-black outfits, the inflexible ideology, the intolerant language, the readiness to use intimidation and violence, etc).
And of course re-reading the ideas of Mussolini and the original fascists, being struck by how similar was their ideology to that of the contemporary Socialists/Communists who they supposedly opposed. (Just read the original fascist manifesto - I would estimate that most socialists would buy into at least 90% of it).
All this seems to confirm the thought that the left-to-right model of politics is much too simplistic, and that the horseshoe shape (in which the communists and the fascists meet around the back) more closely fits the picture.
Of the four great European dictators of the 20th century, Mussolini remains the least known. The last major, non-academic life, by Denis Mack Smith, has been in print for 20 years, but since its publication much new material has emerged, particularly letters. However it is a minefield for any historian as there have been many attempts to falsify the record with forged material.
Nicholas Farrell was a DAILY TELEGRAPH journalist in the second half of the 1990s and spent time investigating the forgeries and writing about the resurgence of Mussolini's reputation, fifty years after his death.
Whereas Mack Smith painted Mussolini as a dyed-in-the wool villain, Farrell takes a different view. He is more positive, and he shows how Italy was changed very much for the better until Mussolini's final and disastrous decision to join the Axis and support Hitler. Could he have followed Franco's example and stayed on the sidelines? It is one of the questions Farrell examines.
This new life of Mussolini also launches a talented biographer.
And of course re-reading the ideas of Mussolini and the original fascists, being struck by how similar was their ideology to that of the contemporary Socialists/Communists who they supposedly opposed. (Just read the original fascist manifesto - I would estimate that most socialists would buy into at least 90% of it).
All this seems to confirm the thought that the left-to-right model of politics is much too simplistic, and that the horseshoe shape (in which the communists and the fascists meet around the back) more closely fits the picture.
Of the four great European dictators of the 20th century, Mussolini remains the least known. The last major, non-academic life, by Denis Mack Smith, has been in print for 20 years, but since its publication much new material has emerged, particularly letters. However it is a minefield for any historian as there have been many attempts to falsify the record with forged material.
Nicholas Farrell was a DAILY TELEGRAPH journalist in the second half of the 1990s and spent time investigating the forgeries and writing about the resurgence of Mussolini's reputation, fifty years after his death.
Whereas Mack Smith painted Mussolini as a dyed-in-the wool villain, Farrell takes a different view. He is more positive, and he shows how Italy was changed very much for the better until Mussolini's final and disastrous decision to join the Axis and support Hitler. Could he have followed Franco's example and stayed on the sidelines? It is one of the questions Farrell examines.
This new life of Mussolini also launches a talented biographer.
Published on Endeavour Press
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