Monday, February 5, 2024

A hard choice


The i-Phone rings while we're on the beach. 'Of course we've not forgotten' says 'The Font' diplomatically to a woman who's showing a picture at an art exhibition in Edinburgh. So it is our plans for a lazy Sunday morning change and we find ourselves in the Volvo heading back into the big city. Thankfully, Sunday morning traffic on the Forth Crossing is light and we're in the outskirts of  town in an hour and fifteen minutes.

I'd expected the exhibition to be one of those cramped , badly lit, affairs full of 'well meaning' approximations of art. It turns out to be a gem. The quality of work on offer is outstanding although strangely, as its a watercolour exhibition, many ( perhaps most)  of the canvases are in oil.


All the works are for sale. For some reason artists from San Pedro in California are also included in this peculiarly Scottish event. The lady behind the desk says the exhibition was held in San Pedro in 2018 and this is a way of saying thank you. She is unsure, as are we,  where exactly San Pedro is or why the annual show should have been held there. Perhaps there's a lost colony of Scots living in California ?


These are the pictures we might be tempted to buy but it's difficult to whittle the choice down to just one

Winter Castle Drummond


Simple Table


Memories of India


The Circus Journal (L)  and Tempus Fugit (R)


Red October


And finally, high up on a wall, Celebration.

30 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

Winter Castle Drummond

Ruth said...

I'd go for Winter Castle Drummond too.

WendyAnn said...

Memories of India and/or Castle Drummond
Wendy (Wales)

Anonymous said...

Celebration. The joy of living seaside. Grace

The Life of Riley said...

Winter Castle Drummond

jabblog said...

Tempus Fugit.

paphosmuseum said...

Castle Drummond is my style, so it. But I love elebration, too

suej said...

Wow, what a superb collection - and lovely setting. I love Winter Castle, so beautiful, but would probably choose Red October for its vibrancy.

Pam in NH said...

Winter castle or Memories of India for me.

Certainly not C-A-T.

Camille said...

All are lovely, but I admire Celebration and Tempus Fugit best.

alfiemag said...

A Simple Table

sillygirl said...

I think a choice depends on your own memories and aesthetic sense - a lovely show.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
I see there may be a winner emerging - and don't disapprove, but my choice would be Red October; I tend to favour autumnal tones and I love the "easter egg" built into the landscape here in reference to one of my fave films! YAM xx

Diaday said...

Red October and Simple Table

waterdog said...

Why limit yourself to just one? I’d go for Celebration and Red October. They are all very impressive watercolors.
JoAnn

Lisa in France said...

I think Memories of India. It would go well with Japanese painting we have that is a very traditional Heian Era court scene except for the laughing hippo in the foreground.

Anonymous said...

I thought they were all beautiful but when I arrived at Red October, I thought: Oh, yeah. I would like to live with this one.
Nina

Sharon said...

Celebration (because of the cat) or Red October which reminds me of pictures you have posted of where you live, but from a drone. It would go with bright colours in your home as well and would be lovely to look at on a dreary day.

Stephanie said...

Tempus Fugit.

Jake of Florida said...

I'm late to the party, and the choice is indeed hard, but I'd go with Red October and Tempus Fugit. For Winter Castle it seems to me you have your own local St Andrews images. (And San Pedro is the small town adjacent to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in Southern California, unless there's another somewhere.)

Jim Davis said...

Winter Castle Drummond

Coppa's girl said...

Very difficult to choose but Red October and Memories of India would be top of the list. I like them all, although I might tire of Simple Table after a few years.

Jake of Florida said...

I'd love to know what your "Easter egg" is!!!

Anonymous said...

The first one and the last one, though they are all tempting

Megan said...


Loved them all but really loved Red October. Thanks Angus for letting us go to this great exhibition with no travel hassles!

The Bougalou Bear said...

Simple table, for its minimalism, and Red October, because it is the exact opposite with its almost pointillistic style.
Thank you for sharing this.

And I, too, would love to know about the "Easter Egg".

June said...

I think Red October is beautiful but so is Memories of India. What a difficult choice!

The Life of Riley said...

Hopefully after all these comments/votes you and "The Font" will buy one or two paintings you both enjoy, and let us know your favourite(s).

Maudie said...

I am so impressed with these paintings.

Poppy Q said...

Winter Castle + Memories of India.