Chorlton Lane

Time for a wee sketch from Cheshire. We were staying with friends on Chorlton Lane.

Meaburn Hill Farmhouse

On our way down to Cheshire we stopped and spent the night in a Bed and Breakfast in a wee place called Maulds Meaburn which turned out to be an absolute treasure and possibly the best B+B we have ever visited in what is definitely the best location. Only a few miles from Appleby, Maulds Meaburn forces you to relax. A few hours there and you start winding down. Lovely.
Meaburn Hill Farmhouse is run by Annie Kindleysides who won the AA Landlady of the Year Award in 2004. It's a beautiful farmhouse and the rooms are lovely. They also have holiday cottages. Above is the room we stayed in with a really great view. Go and click on the link to cumbria-bed-and-breakfast.

Willie Carter, potter

Spent a couple of days in Cheshire last week and was taken to see a pottery studio and shop in Farndon called the Top Farm Pottery. The potter is Willie Carter....a fellow Scot, he hails from way up in Wick and has settled in this beautiful corner of England. A visit to his pottery is a refreshing visual treat. This is a man who truly enjoys what he is doing and makes a wide variety of pieces from plates and teapots through to great arks covered in animals. There is a joy in his work and it's no surprise that he also runs a very successful Saturday class for kids. I get the feeling that he is an inspirational and enthusiastic teacher as well as a great potter.
If you want to drop in and see the work go to Top Farm Pottery, High Street, Farndon, Cheshire, CH3 6PT. There is a link to his web site in the links column.

The Aspect Prize Finalists 2009

'Inscape 3' by Patricia Cain

'Springburn Hopes' by Paul Kennedy

'Migrations of Songs' by Alec Galloway

'Bombo' by Scot Sinclair

The Aspect Prize Blog launches today

This wonderful painting by Alistair Pender 'Television 5 (2001)' and many others will start appearing on the new Aspect Prize blog as of today. Click on the link in the links list to have a look.

Irn Bru

Don't you love this squashed can.

A couple of local landscapes in the sun

White House Near Cortona

In Umbria, driving through the hills we came across this house looking over a fertile green valley. You can contact me through the link to my web site if you are interested in purchasing.

Beyond the Blues

Tonight...for one night only. Tickets on the door.

James Halsall

Last night we went to see the Glasgow School of Art Degree Shows and I've chosen my four favourite artists as examples of what's on display in the Fine Art area. All four have given permission for their work to appear on this blog.
Firstly we have James Halsall's very fine, colourful piece entitled 'House of God(s)'. He was amused when I said 'I like your hut'.
On display in the Mclellan Gallery area it really commands the centre of the gallery and I just hope that someone somewhere would like to own or display this piece. What a sensation it would be in the entrance hall of a business building. Where are you Scottish Gallery of Modern Art....come purchase this piece for your collection.

Brian McCluskey

Out of all the painters on display, Brian McCluskey shows the greatest range of skill in his ability to draw and apply paint and by that I mean that he has a solid grasp of the rudimentary skills needed for a painter to translate his or her thoughts to canvas. That is my humble opinion though no doubt others will disagree. A good test of these skills lies within the sketch books as much as with the finished paintings themselves. It is in these sketches like the one above that I see a sensitive understanding and love of the act of drawing and painting. So rare these days.
Brian's exhibition is in the Mclellan Galleries display area.

Allison Whitehill

Allison Whitehill who has graduated in sculpture hits the high notes with this large detailed drawing. It's approximately three and a half to four feet in height (so my ailing memory tells me). Allison also made the frame and the whole piece has a very attractive feel.

Catriona Munro

And finally...Catriona Munro, filmmaker and photographer, who has created a small cinema in the Mackintosh basement festooned with the above poster. Inside she is showing her hysterical film on the sleazy end of life for Glasgow's girls. This is very deliberately Glasgow's own exploitation movie. Very shaky camerawork, very off the cuff and very funny and hard hitting. There are so many ideas in this film. The pole dancing scene in the Glasgow underground train has GOT to be posted on You Tube. With luck Catriona will take this film along to people like F' n G' productions (who make 'Still Game' and 'Dear Green Place' amongst others) and they will see the potential for creating a series based on the characters and events within. I can see it in my head....so should they.

Catriona...go and show this film to the Edinburgh Film Festival team....go to see the good people at the GFT.

A series of postcards stills from the film are available, as are posters and badges.

What's new in the garden

Let's see if you can work this one out. It's an untouched photograph.

New exhibition

The latest exhibition at the Clerkland Farm Cheese Shop and Tea Room (half way between Dunlop and Stewarton) consists of five works by painter and textile designer Carol Paterson and one piece by retired architect Stuart Hume.

Tractors

The Gala day was fun. Old tractors always look excellent. My pancake stall made tons of money and I spent the entire afternoon over a hot pan thereby not actually seeing anything what was going on...except when the tractors went past. That was my high point.
Spending today hanging The Aspect Prize intake exhibition at Paisley Museum & Art Galleries.
More of that one later.

The Lemond Gallery

This is the fabulous gallery extension to The Lemond Gallery which is attached to a private house in Bearsden. Twice a year gallery owner Susan Lemond puts on a superb exhibition featuring major Scottish artists and the gallery is open to all over a weekend. After that it's by appointment.
This weekend, the 6th and 7th of June, it is open with a new exhibition so if art is your thing head to: 4 Thorn Road, Bearsden.

As bunting adorns the village, preparations are in hand for tomorrow's Gala Day. There is a Gala Queen to be crowned, a parade and celebrations in a field at the edge of the village. Yours truly will be making pancakes whilst others strain in the Tug of War or retire to the tea tent.

A wee watercolour sketch of Moiré in Beaujolais where the painter Robbie Innes lives. He has a great wee cottage for rent by the Chateau.

The garden

Time for a couple of garden shots to cheer everyone up. We have visitors asleep in the spare room and I'm trying to keep quiet until they get up for breakfast. After last night a visit to the bottle bank is definitely on the cards.

I like this starling which has found a good place to view the world from.

Summer cup cakes

With a burst of summer, life moved into the garden and guests arrived bearing cup cakes. No point in resisting temptation.