The JMW Turner Exhibition, Edinburgh

Below is a JMW Turner watercolour titled A River in the Campagne. It was the first time that these Turner paintings had been shown in Edinburgh, they are normally exhibited in Dublin, just for the month of January. This year Edinburgh and Dublin did a swap. It was much busier than usual of course and we ended up standing in a queue for over two hours before we could get in, the first hour we were actually outside in the cold, it was a relief to get into the building.

A River in the Campagne, JMW Turner, Edinburgh, Vaughan exhibition

The painting below is of Bellinzone, Switzerland. This exhibition was so crowded I couldn’t get a straight view of most of the paintings, hence the squinty photo below!

Bellinzone , Switzerland, JMW Turner

Below is Turner’s view of Sunset at Ostend Harbour. He had a great way with skies.

Ostend Harbour, JMW Turner watercolour

Below is a very stormy Plymouth.

Plymouth, JMW Turner watercolour

Below is a very different sort of storm at the Grand Canal in Venice.

Storm at the Mouth of the Grand Canal

Below is The Doge’s Palace in Venice.

aThe Doge's Palace and Piazzetta

Turner’s Fishing Boats at Folkstone is below.

Fishing Boats, Folkestone, JMW Turner watercolour

Below is his view of Edinburgh which as you can see has a lot of reflections in it, so annoying.

Edinburgh, JMW Turner, watercolour

The painting below is of a beech tree, maybe not as dramatic as the rest of the paintings in the exhibition but it’s beautifully detailed. As ever, click on the photgraphs if you want to see them enlarged.

Beech Tree, JMW Turner watercolour

Angela Harding – a jigsaw puzzle

When we visited The Hepworth in Wakefield last year we bought ourselves a jigsaw puzzle in the shop there. The puzzle is of The Salt Path book cover which was designed by the talented artist Angela Harding, I really like her work. At the time I thought it would be not too difficult to put together –  as ever I was wrong. After getting the edges completed I sat there for about an hour before getting one piece in! I was quite despondent, but when you do start to put bits together there’s a great sense of satisfaction. I might make this the last puzzle of the winter though!

Angela Hartnett Jigsaw Puzzle

Petworth Park by Turner – at The National Galleries for Scotland

We went to the Turner exhibition in Edinburgh this week, it was the second attempt as he tried to see it last Friday but the queue was long and it was going to be an hour before we even got into the gallery. We had to give up as we didn’t want to get a parking ticket.

In some ways things were even worse when we went back on Tuesday as the end of the queue was outside the Royal Scottish Academy and it was cold. We were out there an hour before we got into the building. Then another hour inside the building before we got in to see the Turner paintings, the ones that are usually in Dublin.

This view of a sunset at Petworth Park is one of my favourites.

Sunset over Petworth Park

I’ve also added Petworth House to our list of places to visit – eventually. I’ll blog about more of the exhibition soon, it comes to an end at the end of January.

The Dundee Tapestry Exhibition, V&A Dundee

While we were at the V&A in Dundee to see the Kimono Exhibition we also had a look around the ‘Dundee Tapestry’ exhibition which is free. All of the ‘ tapestries’ which are actually embroideries tell the history of Dundee over the years. In years gone by Dundee was called the Jam, Jute and Journalism city and the embroidered panel below depicts a lot of the characters from the Beano and Dandy comics, read by children of all ages for decades and published by DC Thomson. Oor Wullie is at the top of the panel which also features Denis the Menace (the original)  with his dog Gnasher of course, Beryl the Peril and Granpaw from The Broons. There were some young Japanese women looking around this exhibit while we were there and one of the attendants was giving them a bit of a ‘spiel’ about it, but annoyingly she said Oor Willie, which drives me nuts as it’s definitely Oor Wullie, for some reason they anglicise it – to seem posh I suppose.

Dundee  Tapestry, V&A Dundee, embroidery, D.C. Thomson

Dundee Tapestry ,V&A Dundee, C Thomson

The Royal Research Ship Discovery which carried Scott and Shackleton on their First Antarctic expedition is berthed right next to the V&A. She was built in Dundee and it was only fitting that she should return there when she became a museum. It’s well worth a look around it. Otherwise the panel below is about  the many other scientific discoveries from Dundee.

Dundee Tapestry, V&A Dundee

Dundee Tapestry, info board, scientific discoveries, V&A Dundee

But it’s not all about the past, an Eden Project is planned for Dundee in the future and the panel below focuses on the nine environmental guilds which it’s hoped will help Dundee’s future to flourish.

Dundee Tapestry, V&A Dundee

Dundee Tapestry, V&A Dundee, embroidery

This is just a few of the panels, there’s been a lot going on in Dundee over the years, particularly in the computer games industry, so it’s quite a large exhibition with 35 panels which I think is permanent, but it might not be. Some of my photos didn’t come out at all for some reason, but you can read more about the exhibition here.

 

Kimono Exhibition at the V&A Dundee

We had been meaning to go to see Kimono at the V&A in Dundee since it opened way back in May but ‘stuff’ just got in the way. I was a bit shocked when I discovered that the exhibition closes on the 5th of January, so we had to just make time for it, or miss it completely.  So we went there yesterday – unfortunately we weren’t the only people who had almost missed it, it was very busy!  But I managed to take quite a lot of photos while there, it was much bigger than I had expected and there were a lot of details to pore over as well as information cards to read. We were there for quite a long time. I’m just putting a few photos on here just now. I’ll leave the rest for the new year.

Below is a photo of pieces of fabric which make up a kimono. It’s all straight edges so should be very simple to put together.

Kimono , V&A, Dundee, Japanese

Although they’re made out of silk these ones below must be from top quality heavy silk as some of them date from around the 1700s, they’re amazing survivors.

Kimono , Dundee, V&A, exhibition

The grey kimono below was made for a young woman. It looks deceptively simple but does have embroidery and texture woven into the fabric.

Kimono , V&A , Dundee, exhibition

The portrait below is of Elizabeth Smith, wife of publisher George Murray Smith. She added some embelishments to it, such as buttons and fasteners. The portrait is right next to the actual garment which is below.

Kimono , Dundee, V&A, exhibition

Kimono , V&A, exhibition, Dundee

Below is a close up of the beautiful embroidery. All things Japanese were incredibly fashionable for quite a number of years in Victorian times. I can well understand the attraction. I’m sure they would be very comfortable, especially when compared with what European women were expected to wear at the time.

Kimono , V&A, exhibition, Dundee

The exhibition at the V&A in Dundee is only on until January 5th, 2025 so there are only a few days left to see it, and I suppose the V&A will be closed on the 1st and 2nd of January. I’m glad that we managed to see it after putting it off for so long.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgow

I’m just finishing off my Charles Rennie Mackintosh Humnterian posts with some random photos that I took. Below is very typical of his designs, a stained glass stylised rose.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh design, The Hunterian, Glasgow

The Hunterian even has what was the hallway of Charles and Margaret’s home in Glasgow, rebuilt but with the original furnishings.

C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, hall, Glasgow

The metal plaque below was designed by Margaret I think, she had a penchant for what some people described as ‘spooky’ figures.

C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgowmetal cartouche

I love the door below with its inset stylised glass hearts.

C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgowdoor detail

The cheval mirror below is in what was their bedroom, I made sure that my reflection wasn’t in the photo but in retrospect it might have made more sense than the reflection of a door which you can see. I love the design and all the wee drawers but I know that if I had it I would have to search in several of them before I found whatever I was looking for!

C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgow, cheval mirror

Anyway, if you’re a fan of C.R. Mackintosh then you will really enjoy a visit to The Hunterian in Glasgow.

 

The Hunterian, Glasgow – Charles Rennie Mackintosh – his dark furniture

chair ,sideboard, C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgow

We’re back at The Hunterian in Glasgow again, with the photos I took of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s dark furniture.

C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgowchair,cupboard

It’s easier to see the slightly Japanese influence in these designs I think.

Desk, C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgow

 

C.R. Mackintosh, chair, The Hunterian, Glasgow

I’m not sure whether I prefer his white or black furniture, but I think that the white for bedrooms is prettier – and it won’t show up the dust as much!

Dining room ,C.R. Mackintosh, Glasgow

 

Dining room , The Hunterian, C.R. Mackintosh, Glasgow

Anyway, if you happen to be in Glasgow and you admire Charles Rennie Mackintosh you should definitely make time to visit The Hunterian, which also has a lot of art on show, but that’s another blogpost I think.

furniture, C.R. Mackintosh, The Hunterian, Glasgow

The Hunterian, Glasgow, Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Back in August we visited The Hunterian in Glasgow, it’s the oldest public museum in Scotland. We hadn’t been there for quite a few years. They have a lot of original Mackintosh furniture on show, it was saved from a building that  the couple had lived in and he had redesigned, but after their death the building was due to be demolished, luckily the contents were saved and stored until a new home was found for them.

Mackintosh house, Hunterian, Glasgowbed

The Hunterian is the perfect location. I took lots of photos but as his furniture tended to be either black or white I’m splitting the photos up.

Hunterian, Mackintosh bedroom cupboard

As you can see today it’s the white interiors. They’re so light and airy.

Hunterian C.R. Mackintosh, bedroom fireplace

Hunterian, C.R. Mackintosh, bedside table

The above were all in the bedroom. Below are from the living room.

Hunterian, Glasgow, Mackintosh,chair, Cupboard again

Hunterian, Mackintosh, Glasgow

Glasgow, Hunterian, Mackintosh, chairs + Table

Hunterian, Mackintosh, cupboard

If I’m recalling correctly the wall art above the fireplace below is just a copy of a work done by Margaret Macdonald. I think the originals deteriorated a lot over the years.

Hunterian, Glasgow, Fireplace bookcases<Mackintosh, Margaret Macdonald frieze

If you happen to be visiting Glasgow the Hunterian is a great place to see C.R. Mackintosh’s designs and if you have the time you might want to see his wonderful House for an Art Lover  which was not built in his lifetime, but ony fairly recently to his plans. It’s situated in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow.

Blackwell, Arts and Crafts house, Lake District

So here we are back at Blackwell again, but we’re in a very different setting now. The hall is almost medieval in design and is quite dark. The architect deliberately designed the rooms so that you were moving from dark oak panelling through this corridor to light, very light indeed.

White room from corridor, Blackwell, Lake District

So much in this beautiful room is similar (ish) to Rennie Mackintosh’s Hill House in Helensburgh. Again there are sitting neuks by the fireplace, perfect for curling up with a book. I’m fairly sure that the frieze at the top of the wall and the ceiling is papered with Lincrusta, a kind of wallpaper which incorporates plaster designs sandwiched between the paper. It’s on the ceiling too, a fairly inexpensive way of adding luxury to a room, I think you can still buy it today.

Blackwell, White room fireplace

 

Blackwell, White room  chair 1

The corner cupboard below is flanked by two stylised trees, natural motifs are all around the house in the decor, particularly rowan berries, and apparently when the house was taken over after a long period of neglect there was a rowan sapling growing inside this cupboard!

White room  corner cupboard

I think all of the rooms have window seats.

Blackwell, White room windows + seat

But the white room has two window seats, one with a view of the garden, above and a great view of Lake Windermere below.

Blackwell, White room windows

It’s such a shame that Blackwell was never a real family home, just a holiday house for a short time in the summer. The pottery in this room is by Willem de Morgan – it’s stunning.

 

 

Blackwell, an Arts and Crafts house, Lake District

When we were in the Lake District a few weeks ago one of the places on our list to visit was Blackwell, an Arts and Crafts house. I must admit that I hadn’t even heard of it until quite recently. It’s an absolute jewel.

Blackwell, Lake District, Arts and Crafts house

Blackwell has always been a holiday home which is really sad, it would have made a wonderful family home although I suppose the winters in the Lake District can be quite grim. The house was designed by Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott. It’s not far from Bowness on Windermere.

Blackwell, Lake District, Hall stained glass

The photos above and below are of the Hall. The stained glass design of tulips and blue birds looks much better in reality.

aHall 6

The hall is a large room, you could easily hold a dance in it. The copper lighting is original as is the peacock frieze at the top of the walls. This is actually wallpaper which has been recently refurbished. As you can just see on the left there’s another cosy seating area.

Blackwell, Lake District, Arts and Crafts, Hall 1

We joined in a guided tour which was interesting. Some of the designs are very reminiscent of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, he and Baillie Scott were designing at around the same time and were often competing for the same commissions. Of course Baillie Scott was also of Scottish descent.

The hall is a bit of a mixture of Tudor style, with its oak panelling and early 20th century styling. The guide thought that the fireplace was a nod towards Art Deco although the house is a bit early for that, the Dutch Delft tiles around the fireplace seemed a bit incongruous in the setting, but they are attractive. Every house should have at least one window seat I think, and this house has a few. They are perfect for reading in but the scenery outside might be a bit too distracting.

Blackwell Hall , Lake District

Or you could sit in the window below, the light should be good anyway.

Blackwell, Arts and Crafts, Furniture + windows

Blackwell, Hall, Bench, Lake District

This part of the house is quite dark, it was deliberate, to contrast with the bright light of the rest of the downstairs, but I’ll leave that for another post.

Blackwell stands above Lake Windermere, below is a view from the driveway towards the lake.

Windermere, view from Blackwell, Lake District