This is the eleventh highlight: the Tweed Regional Art Gallery was an enchanting discovery set in the idyllic landscape of the Tweed Valley. The Gallery showcased the work of Margaret Olley, Australia’s most celebrated painter of still life and interiors. What I learned of Margaret Olley fascinated me. She lived alone in a corner houseContinue reading “Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022: A Travel Diary #11 Tweed Regional Art Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre, Murwillumbah, New South Wales”
Category Archives: art exhibitions
Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022: A Travel Diary #9 Kiama, the Illawarra Film Festival and the Norman Lindsay Art Gallery, New South Wales
This is the ninth of my Highlights and includes some of the most outstanding experiences of my Australian trip. First, Kiama, which is down the coast south of Sydney. This was a base from which we planned to visit the Illawarra Film Festival in the Phoenix Theatre, Coniston. We were there because my daughter AbigailContinue reading “Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022: A Travel Diary #9 Kiama, the Illawarra Film Festival and the Norman Lindsay Art Gallery, New South Wales”
Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022: A Travel Diary #3 The City of Brisbane, South Bank
Here is the third post of my Highlights; today, the south bank of the Brisbane river, with its Art Galleries, Performing Arts Centre and State Library, along with the headquarters of the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where my daughter Abigail works on the news programme), the Big Wheel, and the inspired South Bank Parklands, formerlyContinue reading “Highlights of My Australian Journey 2022: A Travel Diary #3 The City of Brisbane, South Bank”
My Australian Journey 2022: #9 Norman Lindsay Art Gallery, Blue Mountains, NSW
I was delighted to visit Norman Lindsay’s property in the Blue Mountains. He was an extraordinary man who lived from 1879 to 1969 and he was a writer as well as a children’s writer poet and illustrator, a wartime cartoonist, a propaganda poster designer, artist, garden designer and sculptor. His home is now an artContinue reading “My Australian Journey 2022: #9 Norman Lindsay Art Gallery, Blue Mountains, NSW”
My Australian Journey 2022 #4: #ShiotaGOMA
This post is dedicated to an amazing exhibition we saw at GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art) on Brisbane’s South Bank. Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota presented ‘ The Soul Trembles’ – an astonishing collection of artworks and installations with the power to change the way you see the world. The first installation put these ideas intoContinue reading “My Australian Journey 2022 #4: #ShiotaGOMA”
A Visit to Compton Verney, Warwickshire, in December 2021
Compton Verney in Warwickshire is one of my favourite places; an elegant Georgian house set in a glorious landscape. A visit here and a walk through the Capability Brown parklands always gives me a feeling of bliss and tranquility. Capability Brown knew what he was up to when he rode through the grounds of theseContinue reading “A Visit to Compton Verney, Warwickshire, in December 2021”
A Tribute to a Gifted Friend: Multifaceted Artist Alison Hird-Beecroft
Today I want to celebrate a rare soul and gifted artist, a lover of the structure and form and beauty she found in the world, both in nature and in the built environment, who cunningly wove that into her own exquisite artefacts: Alison Hird-Beecroft. Alison was a dear friend of both myself and my sisterContinue reading “A Tribute to a Gifted Friend: Multifaceted Artist Alison Hird-Beecroft”
Spring 2021 Writing News
Spring is almost with us and new hope is rising. What’s new here in Warwick, during what we hope will be the final months of the final lockdown? I’m following lots of online courses – Pilates classes; online song rehearsals with community choir Songlines; a writing course with the amazing sitcom scriptwriter Paul Kerensa, which I do with my comedy blogger son Jamie;Continue reading “Spring 2021 Writing News”
Inspiration for Creative Writers From Grayson Perry in Grayson’s Art Club
Honesty and truthfulness – these are the outstanding virtues of a great artist. And as a creative writer I am currently finding inspiration from artist Grayson Perry as he showcases “Covid-19 lockdown art” in his TV show “Grayson’s Art Club” on Channel 4. Grayson makes use of our contemporary culture which he transforms into artContinue reading “Inspiration for Creative Writers From Grayson Perry in Grayson’s Art Club”
Australia and New Zealand Mini Series Part 28: Queensland, Australia: from University Campus to Botanic Gardens and Iconic Lookout: Brisbane Highlights
This is the twenty-eighth and final post in my series of short reflections on different places in Australia and New Zealand, as experienced during my November 2019 visit. In my last post I wrote about our final visit in New Zealand: Auckland Botanic Gardens. Whilst there we enjoyed the outstanding Sculptures in the Gardens exhibitionContinue reading “Australia and New Zealand Mini Series Part 28: Queensland, Australia: from University Campus to Botanic Gardens and Iconic Lookout: Brisbane Highlights”
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