I gave my friend a list of art exhibitions on in London and asked her to choose. With the prospect of dodgy weather, being indoors sounded like a good option. As it turned out, the day wasn’t too bad at all weather-wise, and the exhibition she chose was excellent.
Winslow Homer (1836-1910) was an American Realist painter of landscapes and best known for his marine paintings. The exhibition at The National Gallery is called Forces of Nature. The paintings here include scenes from the American civil war and life after slavery for black people (not such a good life with all the restrictions about what they could and could not do). There was a lot in this exhibition that made us think that sadly, not a lot has changed in the world.
It is always helpful to know what is behind a particular artwork, but I got the feeling that Winslow Homer didn’t like explaining. So, do art critiques guess?! Homer used a lot of symbolism in his art, which is common with artists, and has been for hundreds of years. Homer worked in oil and watercolour, but it was his oil paintings that we were drawn to the most.
Winslow Homer’s depiction of light is well done. His use of white against dark backgrounds really brings his work to life. His sea paintings are stunning. He loves stormy seas and has a knack with the brush of creating the waves and splash against rocks. We both enjoyed this exhibition and learning about this artist who neither of us had really come across before.
In Trafalgar Square we got to see the new art work on the fourth plinth. It rather fitted in with the exhibition we had just seen. Entitled Antelope, the work is by Samson Kabalu, and you can read about it here.
A short walk in the October sunshine
Yesterday morning dawned with blue sky that said ‘come and walk under me’! So I did. Just a local walk in places I know well and frequented many times during Covid lockdown.
I love to photograph leaves against sunlight and the changing seasons. Autumn is a great time for photographers with so many wonderful colours. Even the road where I live is alive with vibrant tones of gold, yellow and red.
All photos were taken with my trusty mobile.
My London+ 