Got back the other day from a great visit to Scotland to visit brother, sister-in-law and niece.
This beautiful painting by Renoir, Woman with Parasol in a Garden, was one of my favourite paintings at the Impressionist Gardens exhibition at the National Gallery in Edinburgh,
- if my legs could have coped I could have stayed for hours. Monet's water lilies were a real eye-opener, you could see so much more than in the reproductions, how the lilies rested on the water, I could have looked at that one for ages and ages, and yet in postcards it looks nothing like the wonder it is.
Back at the house...
looking out of the window into the garden, I thought the apples on the table looked a bit impressionistic themselves.
Off to Glencoe!!! We were so lucky, it was sunny, so the contrasting lights and darks were strong.
Spending so much time looking up at the mountains it is easy to forget to look down....
and then up again....
Last view of Glencoe..
The next day we went to Aberfeldy to stay for a couple of nights. A little walk in the Birks of Aberfeldy was lovely, with the autumn colours just beginning, and the foaming river alongside.
Coming across the statue of Robert Burns busily writing his poem
was a little unsettling, particularly as that part of the woods was
a bit dark. There he was, scribbling away:
The braes ascend like lofty wa's,
The foaming stream, deep-roaring, fa's,
O'er hung wi' fragrant spreading shaws,
The birks of Aberfeldy.
In Aberfeldy we had coffee and cakes in The Watermill, but sadly the Gallery was closed as they were re-stocking a new collection. But there were some good books to try and resist...
A visit to Dunkeld the next day ....
where we saw salmon leaping in this river, but couldn't be quick enough to photograph it! It kept on trying and trying, poor thing.
Then, back to Edinburgh...
with a final trip to the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens, and a peep at the Shell House, with the Queen Mother's garden beyond.
It was raining as I finally got on the train for home....
Went to the Pre-Raphaelite and Italy exhibition at the Ashmolean. I liked this one by Burne-Jones, lovely deep rich colours.
I thought this was charming at first, then found out that the lady thought she was to marry the one who is kissing her, when in fact she was to marry his (ugly!) brother - you can just see the brother's hand at the left of the picture. Evidently he was painted in on the original, but then taken out, and only his hand was left. Boy, he must have been ugly. (Who says looks don't count?) This painting is by William Dyce.
I love the colours on this painting by Ruskin - he did so many beautiful architectural paintings, but this is one of my favourites.
