@Terry Page, when I first looked at your last photo, all I saw was. (I tried to show the message, buy 'it' keeps deleting it) So it ether fixed itself or you did. The residential block reminds me of a part of the inner city of Chicago back in 1970. I am always fascinated by the similarities in the ways that so many different cultures are living in around the world.
I uploaded it Ina instead of originally doing a drag and drop so maybe that is why it didn't work for you and Ruby first time, though I could see it
A new BBC series coming up starting on January 6th about the Romanovs with the excellent Lucy Worsley. Should be interesting. BBC4 - 9 o'clock.
Thanks for the tip Tom I will look out for that, it sounds good. I had forgotten this thread must update it a bit sometime soon
There's also a programme about Scottish art immediately before this on BBC4. This may also be of interest.
Jack Vettriano is one of my very favorite painters and he's Scottish. "The Singing Butler" (right) is probably his most famous which I adore but also "Waltzers" (left). He also has some more, shall I say, romantic ones. He reminds me a little of American, Edward Hopper.
Yes I always loved Jack Vettriano as well, but many of the critics don't like his work at all, sounds like snobbery to me, partly because he was self taught, plus some of his work is erotic, which they say verges on soft porn, here are a couple of his less explicit ones I like. His official website here some images here He was given up painting due to a shoulder injury evidently, but should restart soon news here Not quite a Russian experience but close
The critics were probably basing their critique on two things. First, that his "Dancing Butler" was over commercialized where mass amounts of prints were made and hung on every Dance Studio's wall worldwide and I even saw framed prints for sale in TJMaxx (a discount store here) of the dancing butler. When anything over saturates the market, that tends to cheapen it. Secondly, some of his things do not quite have the depth as the others have, and are more like naughty Norman Rockwells…lol…I'm exaggerating a bit. I still like many of his works.
I must concede that I am not a fan of Vettriano. It's nothing, at least in my case, to do with snobbery. I just don't like his art. Brits of a certain age will remember a chain of shops called Athena, which sold naff prints of naff paintings and I'm afraid Vettriano reminds me of that.
I've only been familiar with the butler painting. After looking at one of Lara's links, it looks like he paints himself in all of his work.
Ruby, I never thought of that, I think you're right that he paints himself into almost all of his works. Tom, do you have a favorite Scottish artist? Here is a link for some good Scottish artists (just keep scrolling down past Vettriano if you wish) http://www.tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com/search/label/Scottish Artist
Yes Tom we had two Athena shops in Worcester in their heyday, I can't remember buying anything from there apart from frames, but some of the prints were ok in my opinion, but it was mainly for art as part of the furnishings for your house. We now have a home furnishing chain store in England called Dunelm Mill, who sell very cheap original oil on canvas paintings, all slightly different versions of the same scene, presumably produced in a shed in China. It's the modern equivalent of the Athena art concept I feel. I like the mood that Vettriano produces in me with his images, it's not high art but there is something about some of his works that I like, but of course all art is subjective anyway I guess.
Kostya Lupanov, the famous Russian painter, stopped by this morning, and had an orange, with his two coffees!