“Never walk past a 2nd-hand bookshop.” It pays dividends as evidenced above. Beautiful book on water colourist Rowland Hilder, who captured the British countryside perfectly; whether it was winter Elms, sun reflecting off snow or water. It’s all to do with light! He made it look effortless. The book only cost £1.50 too!Continue Reading
ArchivesCategory: Blog
27JanMong Kok Flower Market
Beautiful flowers and plants for sale at the Mong Kok flower market on Kowloon. Prices varied tremendously. For example, the orchids shown here were around £6.00, but saw others for £14.00. The variety of flowers, plants and colours on display was simply staggering.Continue Reading
15JanWu Guanzhong painting
Visited Tsim Sha Tsui Museum on Kowloon and there was an exhibition on display by Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010). Recognised, apparently, as the founder of modern Chinese painting. Beautiful style, and (above) is just part of a painting titled ‘A fishing Harbour’ (140cm x 180cm). Incredibly contemporary feel to his work, even in his later life, and incredibly energising to walk round the exhibition.Continue Reading
15JanChinese Chop
Had a fabulous visit to Hong Kong last year to see my son, and on the ‘list-of-things-to-do’ was getting a Chinese Chop made of my name. Visited Man Wa Lane to see a chop-maker, who wrote an example of my name in old- and new-style characters. Opted for the new, and he told me, if I wanted, I could have it ready in half an hour! Continue Reading
14JanDriving for Honda
Last year, my brother-in-law, photographer Paul (paulharmer.com) asked: “Would I like to drive a car for Honda around Lisbon for 3 days, be put up in a very nice hotel, and be paid.” Naturally I said “YES!!” Grabbed the opportunity, and although we worked long hours, who wouldn’t swap the dreary weather we had in the UK for the warmth and sunshine of Portugal!? The scenery around Setúbal, in particular, the Arrábida mountain, was spectacular. Honda were launching the European re-vamped HR-V and various photos were required for journalists to use in print and online.Continue Reading
15JunBSMS Pulse magazine
We’ve just completed Brighton & Sussex Medical School’s magazine. We created and designed not only a new look, but a new name too.Continue Reading
06MarMossy trees
Walked with friends through Banstead Woods in Surrey last weekend, for once feeling the warmth of the sun. Hoorah! Came across a section of the woods where almost every tree was covered entirely in moss. Weird. Often see a ‘side’ of a tree with moss, but haven’t seen it before where every surface is covered. Is it detrimental to its growth? Apparently not. Neither moss (or lichen for that matter) extract nutrients from the tree itself, and their presence is a positive indicator of healthy air conditions. Good news!Continue Reading
23FebJohn Virtue’s Seascape sketches
Really interesting to see John’s sketchbooks on display in the exhibition (stacks of them!), and note that they bear little comparison to his subsequent paintings.Continue Reading
23FebJohn Virtue Seascapes
Saw John Virtue’s Seascape paintings over at the Towner art gallery in Eastbourne. Very powerful, maybe more so given the usual scale that he works to. There were some smaller works on paper, that at least you could get through the front door but, sadly, I don’t have £6,000 pounds to spare. I find black and white images far more arresting and dwell on, much more than colour.Continue Reading
