Vincent van Gogh exhibition

Before the lockdown was implemented in the UK I visited the Meet Vincent exhibition in London. I’m quite a fan of Vincent van Gogh’s artwork and I think his story is an incredible one and deeply sad. I think that his art is emotive and really beautiful so was keen to go visit and find out more. The exhibition was quite different to what you might expect. There are lots of props and everyone is encouraged to touch and get close to the displays.

Upon arrival you were handed a headset that would activate as you walked around the exhibit, telling you about that period of the artist’s life and what kind of art Vincent would have produced. There was a room that has a video project onto the wall to give you an idea of what the landscape was like as Vincent painted. You could hear the wind rushing through the tall grass and the birds crying in the sky. Another big section was the cafĂ© Vincent frequented regularly, painting other customers from his table.

Haystacks play a large part in Vincent’s artwork and there were hay bales you could sit on and a large cart filled with hay.

I think my favourite section was the reproduction of his famous bedroom. You could walk into it and it really felt like you were walking in to one of his most famous paintings. It bought back memories of when I tried to draw the chair with a pipe resting on it at school.

The next section was about Vincent’s stay at a hospital after he infamously cut off his ear, having struggled with menial illness. He created many more paintings here during his stay.

The final section was about how the world has fallen in love with his paintings after he died. Vincent van Gogh painted over 2000 paintings during his 10 years as an artist.

I would definitely recommend a visit to this exhibition if you’re a fan, mildly curious or just love beautiful paintings. I really enjoyed my visit and it gave me a much better idea of who Vincent van Gogh was and his struggle through life.

Camden Town

I visited Camden again not too long ago to show my niece around the markets and to look for some street art, which is always great. It was a rainy day but we didn’t let that dampen our enthusiasm. We first walked through Little Venice which holds canal boats, has pretty bridges and willow trees with drooping branches. There was a also a section where people had started to attach locks to the gates that was interesting.

Next we headed to the markets to get out of the rain for a while and to get something to eat. As well as food stalls there were lots of shops and stalls which had really cool and beautiful things. I especially liked the Moroccan style lamps and the retro cameras.

Having dried off a little we decided to head back out and see what street art we could find. It didn’t take us long to find some colourful, creative, amazing artwork. I love Dan Kitchener’s work and have seen it in several spot’s around London, and this rainy scene was very apt for the day. I also really liked the girl with flowers in her hair and the couple standing under a running tap, although it’s a shame that was spoiled a little with the black spray over it.

There was street art on huge walls as murals, in doorways and around almost every corner, so it took us a while to go around. I was familiar with some of the styles of some artists so it was great to see what new pieces they had done. I liked the coloured, squared doorway, something I can imagine having in my home, and the solemn looking girl I thought was really striking.

We eventually made it back to the station, having found dozens of new street art pieces and feeling quite satisfied, if not a bit wet. And my niece didn’t think Camden was quite as peculiar as I made it out to be. Street art is always changing, which is one of the great things about it, and Camden and other places in London really encourage street artist to be creative and bold, which I hope to see more of.

Brighton street art

On my trip to Brighton earlier this year, something I became aware of shortly upon arriving was that there was so much street art around. Walking from the station to the coast there was a range of art from different artists each with their own styles. I stopped to take photos of most of what I saw, meaning that it took me ages to get to where I wanted, but it was worth it. Here’s some of the best street art I saw, from artists with raw talent that I thought was amazing.

Discovering street art

What I love about London is how things are always changing and developing making walks around the city interesting and varied. One of the things that I particularly keep an eye out for is street art. There’s always a splash of colour or a cheeky face peeking out from just about anywhere. One talented artist whose work I’m quite fond of is Nathan Bowen and he seems to be quite busy leaving his mark in various places.

Nathan Bowen Art

I also see a number of Stickmen (by Stik) popping up which I also really like and I thought the chicken were good fun too by Holly Frean.

I always like coming across artwork that makes me think of something in a new perspective or just brings a smile to my face. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled and hopefully will share more creative street art as I chance upon them.

WPC: Ornate piano

This grand piano really lives up to it’s name. The beautiful, ornate embellishments are by William Morris and Co. and are typical of the designs that were created by him. I personally love the style and detail of Morris’ work and have been a fan since I first discovered it.

Giant fingers

fingers

On my last visit through Trafalger Square in London I came across this curious sculpture. It automatically made me think of Michealangelo’s famous painting Creation of Adam but there was no information about who or what these fingers were meant to represent. I have since looked it up and discovered that this is a piece by Jose Rivelino, a Mexican artist and is meant to represent equality between people. I really like the idea and I think this is an interesting and thought provoking piece of work. What do you think?

finger

East London street art

I recently went to dinner with friends in Brick Lane and one of the things I really enjoy in this part of East London, apart from the food, is the amazing street art. For those who don’t know, Brick Lane is known for it’s delicious food and wide range of interesting street art, and whilst I was waiting I took a walk to check out the artwork. It wasn’t long before I had my phone out and began taking photos (and I wasn’t the only one).

I wasn’t walking for long but I managed to take lots of photos. What I loved was seeing just how talented these artists were and the array of different styles and vivid colours that were used to express ideas and notions. You could see in some areas new paint covering the old, showing how art in this part of London is alive and ever changing.

I hope I can go back soon with my camera and spend longer admiring and capturing the artwork and I’m sure that there’ll be lots of new ones to see when I do.