Avebury

Fern at Avebury on a wet and misty morning.

Calke Abbey, Baddesley Clinton & The White Horse

A trend has been forming recently. Every day I go to a new place and rave about it. It’s the best thing I've ever seen and I thought that nothing could beat Castle Howard for its impressive interior and I was right in a way but I hadn't yet visited Calke Abbey…

Even though this room is massive the collection has taken over somewhat.

The obsessive taxidermy collection in one of the little rooms at Calke Abbey

A bedroom as it was left by its former occupants

The pull of this particular house is that it is in a state of decline. 

The National Trust have been careful to preserve it in the condition in which they found it; a painstaking process of expensive and time consuming work to be sure the wallpaper peeled off that part of the wall just so and the mold in that hallway remained exactly as it had always been when they acquired the property without getting worse. This particular family were not big on socializing, updating or showing off. Instead their lineage follows a trail of eccentric recluses who enjoyed to hoard. Calke’s halls are stuffed with bits and pieces from various collections. It is sad that death duties ate up half of the taxidermy collection because it is quite a statement about the house and it's quirky family but there is still enough of the curious stuff crammed into various rooms to give the viewer a real feeling of the place and the obsessive nature of its former owners.

Calke opens very late on a Sunday so we arrived at Baddesley Clinton without much time to spare. This medieval moated house was glorious with its little half timbered hallways, stained glass windows and makeshift chapel. It's little inner courtyard was a real delight and I loved the way that ivy and wisteria is grown everywhere here. It adds a real charm to these houses and the different topiary is enchanting and will probably pop up in some paintings sooner rather than later.

As the sun began to set we found ourselves on white horse hill and then later within The White Horse Inn, a half timbered and half thatched in nestled in a little village just past the foot of the hill. A very tiring but incredibly rewarding day.

Birdoswald Roman Fort, Castle Howard & Lyme Park

1910 Well at Birdoswald Roman Fort

The latrines still mostly intact after almost two thousand years

This holiday was planned around all the things I’d been dying to see in England. It’s been ten years since I had last been there and as my tastes changed so did my wishlist. My long suffering husband was happy to go along on my flights of fancy but there were a few things that were on his wishlist too. One of these was to see Hadrian’s Wall. On a cold and windy day we drove down the little country lanes with their dry stone walls and rolling hills beyond and found ourselves climbing a large hill to the remains of one of Hadrian’s forts on the wall. It was surprising how much of it remained intact for the fact it has stood for many centuries being constructed only a hundred years or so after the death of Christ. Nik and I didn't choose to read the material on the fort but used our brains instead to figure out the reasons for the different constructions and their placement and were rewarded by the little plaques around the place.

Fountain at Castle Howard

Temple of the Winds

The sky was full of heavy clouds tinted peach by the setting sun as we made our way to our next destination. We had nowhere to stay but trusted in luck and came across a little farm stay bed and breakfast near the gates of Castle Howard. 

The next day was a tribute to my favorite programmes the first being Brideshead Revisited. I adore the BBC adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s spectacular novel so we were there first thing before the maddening rush of tourists to see the place as it sat quietly in the landscape. It was for lack of a better term, magnificent. We wandered around the tracks for the lake and copse coming to views of the mausoleum and the spectacular ‘Temple of the Winds.’ The park was planted with the most splendid assortment of trees which I admired greatly for the thoughtfulness of their planting. These huge old sentinels were touched with autumn colours and the play of gold, copper, green and turquoise as well as their textures one against the other were truly delightful. It seems odd to be talking about how much I enjoyed the trees at such a place but I have never seen this kind of garden achieve such a sense of loveliness and continuity.

Even though I had seen the interior through my beloved Brideshead Revisited it was nothing compared to the reality of being there. This place was epic. It seemed as if I had stumbled on the biggest and most elaborate stage set complete with cupola, painted murals and carved stone everywhere. How dramatic it must have been to live in such a place.

Castle Howard

After tea and scones, necessary for any fantasy tour it was another long drive but this time to pay homage to Jane Austen. Anyone who loved the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice must have Lyme Park on their list of must do’s. It makes no difference that Colin Firth didn't swim in the lake by the house or that his stunt double got poisoned by the water, this place was well worth the visit. The older medieval house was rebuilt in the more fashionable Italian style but still they liked to recycle and little bits and pieces of the old house popped up now and again to add a quirky statements to this fantastic old mansion. The National Trust attendants were the friendliest people I’ve ever met, in each room someone would greet us and tell us fascinating stories about their part of the house. We only had an hour before closing so we had to rush through but we left with a very welcome feeling which was coupled by our combined love of the house. It was one of the highlights of our trip so far.

Lyme Park

That night we stayed in The Pack Horse Inn, a little old inn which sat at the top of a hill crest overlooking a valley which was a patchwork of fields and small farm houses.

The next morning the landscape was white. A deep mist had penetrated into the valley adding a ghostly demeanor to our travelling. Soon it thinned and opened up like a series of cut out silhouettes on a light box. We were heading south again towards Nottingham. The day was beautiful and perfect to wander through Sherwood Forest which was a real treat. I have an idea in my head based on a tintype I found last year for a Joan of Arc painting and these woods would be the perfect backdrop. I took many photos of the gnarled old trees and the Major Oak with its rotted out center and sheer age was something special to behold.

The Major Oak Sherwood Forest

Nottingham itself is sadly just another large town and the old castle, one of the three important medieval strongholds of England (if our tour guide is to be believed) was pulled down to build an Italianate pleasure palace. It was incredibly difficult to get carried away in the medieval drama of the Robin Hood myth and finally after an hour of wandering around the caves and tunnels under the new castle I had to admit defeat. Ah well we can’t win them all.

We spent the night in the new labyrinthine construction which was tacked on to D. H. Lawrence’s lovely old birthplace; a nondescript hotel room without charm or finesse but perfectly adequate as a place to sleep after such a day of such highs and lows.

Edinburgh

These past few days in Edinburgh have been another beautiful look into a great Scottish city. Three days ago we took the train from Aberdeen to Edinburgh. We traveled through a lovely stretch of Scottish coast embedded with little treasures that appeared for a moment and then were gone. The bridge over the Firth of Forth felt almost as if we were flying over the water. I thought Aberdeen was special, and it has its own charm but Edinburgh has trumped it with its plethora of Gothic spires, carved facades and twisting back streets. The castle  and the rock it has been built upon seems to have sprung fully formed from a set designers imagination. 

After we explored the stronghold we braved the rain and found our way to the Palace of Holyrood. Of the two impressive royal buildings I preferred this one. It was more intimate and we had some rooms to ourselves opposed to the throng of tourists we encountered at the castle. One room had a ceiling so extravagantly decorated with plaster leaves that it seemed at any moment it may shed like a deciduous tree to cover the furniture in a blanket of white leaves. 

I was surprised by the effect that the Elizabethan portraits had on me. Until that moment I had thought I wanted my art to be more like that of Waterhouse or Rosetti but after seeing those works up close at the Aberdeen Art Gallery I was surprised by the lose brushwork and lack of obsessive detail which I always imagined they contained when I saw them in books. This doesn't mean that I loved them any less but when I saw the Tudor portraits in Holyrood it was as if I was hit by a lightning bolt. I always wanted to be a Pre-Rapaelite but now I realize my art is more akin to something far older and much more finicky. The feeling I want to instill in my works, the attention to meticulous detail, everything fell into place for me in that room.

Interior of 'The Kenilworth' on Rose Street in Edinburgh with its wonderful tiled walls.

We decided to have dinner at The Kenilworth, tried Haggis and thought about what I had seen that day. The next morning we waited outside the Scottish National Portrait Gallery totally unaware of what lay in wait inside. The doors finally opened and I found myself in one of the most beautiful rooms I have ever seen. 

Central hall at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh

Again the Tudor portraits took my breath away. There is something so emotive about them. They are flat and decorative but there is something so truthful and almost haunting about these images. I love the black backgrounds, the tilting of floors and tables, the sense of theatrical drama, power and storytelling that they emit. This portrait of Mary Queen of Scots contains writing and dates that raise the sense of gravity in the painting.

Mary Queen of Scots

Today we also moved to new accommodation. It just so happens that this guest house in Castle Street was originally the birthplace of Kenneth Grahame the author of 'The Wind in the Willows' one of my favorite childhood stories. We have a room at the very top of the house with a view from the bay window to the castle on one side and the Firth of Forth on the other. It's fantastic, a tiny room which consists of many angles and is so high up it feels detached from the rest of the world.

Later that day we visited the Edinburgh Royal Botanical Gardens and not only wandered through a series of stunning glasshouses dripping with orchids and old mans beard but stumbled across a wonderful sculpture by one of our favorite British artists, Andy Goldsworthy. 

Andy Goldsworthy sculpture

Victorian Glasshouse entrance

Karp at the Edinburgh Royal Botanical Gardens

Aberdeen

Memorial in the graveyard of the Kirk of St Nicholas

At last I am here in Scotland. It has only been a couple of days since I touched down from Perth but I didn't want to waste a moment and so I have been busy wandering around the city and taking in the ambiance of this great old place. The architecture here is so fantastic, it's a world all of its own with the grey stone and elaborate facades and tiny winding back streets which always seem to lead somewhere wonderful. My favorite place in the city is the churchyard of the Kirk of St Nicholas. It's in the very center of the city and inside one wouldn't even know that the busy hustle and bustle of Union Street is only meters away. Along the walls there are elaborately carved memorials and though the graves are worn down by age there is something very peaceful about the moss and the damp and the canopy of green overhead. 

Viewed from inside the graveyard the huge stone gateway is imposing in its size and gravity, a superb but chilling reminder of the transience of man's existence on earth. Outside the spell is broken and the hustle and bustle of everyday life continues. Union Jack bunting runs for the whole stretch of Union street adding a festive cheer to my wandering. I have a special fascination for churches and St Marchar's Cathedral was a feast for the eyes and the imagination. The paneled ceiling was awesomely impressive and the stained glass windows and flags were gorgeous.

Stained glass window commemorating the fallen of WWI in St Marchar's Cathedral

For my first day in Aberdeen I'd seen a lot of really fascinating old things which I stored away for future use in my art.

Crathes Castle seen from the walled garden. Giant Topiary frame the small gate onto the lawn.

The next day I decided to venture further afield and though I'm not great at finding my way around I resolved to go on an adventure and took the bus out of Aberdeen to see an old Scottish castle. The one I chose was Crathes. Luckily for me it was a beautiful day and the journey out into the countryside was very relaxing. 

It was a quite a long walk from the road to the castle but a small track took me through woodland and up until I could see the towers of Crathes between the trees. What a wonderful place Crathes is with its pink rendered walls and its assortment of oddly shaped towers emerging haphazardly from the castle walls. Ascending the spiral staircase was a joy of geometry and whitewash leading ever upwards to rooms with painted ceilings and tiny carved beds smothered in a fantasy of embroidery. From the utmost rooms the views were spectacular, taking in the walled garden and the rolling landscape beyond.

The view from the top level of Crathes.

Small water feature in the walled garden

I really enjoyed looking through the castle but I was surprised by how the gardens took an equal hold on my imagination. Perhaps it is the fact that Nik and I are now gardening ourselves I found the walled garden at Crathes was such a delight. I believe it was begun in the early decades of the 20th century and though it is Autumn in Scotland there are many beautiful flowers still turning their faces towards the sun.

Around every corner there were delicate planted compositions and now and again a small folly or quiet space would appear to please the eye. I took many photos of plant specimens for my future paintings and wished I had more time to stay and sketch. 

Codona's amusement park with the best and worst rides I've ever been on

On Saturday morning the sky was golden over the sea and Codona's amusement park which is across the road from our apartment beckoned. It was a lot of fun though everyone else at the park had to be about 10 and younger. It may not have been the best idea to eat a burger then go on every crazy spinning ride but it all worked out in the end and I don't think Nik and I have ever laughed so much in our lives. The Haunted House was especially hilarious, taking its place as the lamest attraction we'd ever seen but it was all the better for it.

Wives and Stunners

'Monna Vanna'  Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1866

'La Ghirlandata' Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1873

People often tell me that I am a romantic at heart and looking at the way I view the world I have to agree. From an early age I felt a real passion for Vivaldi and Botticelli, for the poetry of Shelley and the writing of the great Victorian novelists Bram Stoker and Robert Louis Stevenson. For a long time I was absolutely obsessed with Mozart and went on pilgrimages to Austria to attain some deeper sense of connection to his life and work. 

Very soon I will be going on another pilgrimage of sorts. This time my fascination turns towards the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood and the women who became their muses. I do wonder though if a greater knowledge of the lives of my idols is always a good idea. Right now I hold a romantic view of their lives in my mind informed by nothing more then the connection I have with their artwork. Will their lives colour the way I perceive works I have loved for so long? I must hope that this knowledge will make them all the richer.

'The Tree of Forgiveness' Edward Burne-Jones 1881-1882

Stephen Glassborow

Normally I am so engrossed in my own art that I don't pay much attention to what is happening outside of my small sphere. Today however I took the time to go and see 'Heavy Metal' an exhibition of works by Stephen Glassborow at the Linton and Kay Fine Art Gallery in Subiaco. 

I am in love. These works are like poetry wrapped within a skin of bronze. I adore Stephen's strong grounding in graphic design and his evocative use of line and colour. 

A while ago I saw 'Optional Extras' and it has always haunted me as a superb work which caught me by surprise and held my fascination over the passage of time.

Spring

Spring is here and every day I can see wonderful changes happening in the garden. They are still very young but we are hoping that our chocolate pudding fruit and vanilla bean trees will be old enough to begin producing fruit this year. Their names are so fantastic that I wonder if their fruit will live up to my expectations. A couple of weeks ago on a sunny Sunday afternoon I felt in the mood to do a bit of gardening. There was one patch of space that hadn't yet been utilized and though Nik doesn't like them much he let me plant my favorites, succulents. I love their sculptural qualities and when they flower they are spectacular. This was the perfect spot for them as it bakes in the Perth summer and nothing else would survive the midday sun. It's quite amazing that Nik and I were never really interested in gardens before we started on our own and now flowers and trees are everywhere in my paintings.

Trelise Cooper

Very soon I will post images of my newest pieces of art, highly detailed paintings which are incredibly special to me. Until then I am excited about my two newest purchases from New Zealand designer Trelise Cooper. For months now I have been enamored with the 'Yankee Doodle' jacket (left) and 'Neck Romancer' white shirt. Tonight I was lucky enough to get the thumbs up from my husband. The jacket makes me think of adventures in hot and exotic places and I believe that if you can't physically get there it's fun to pretend.

Boudoir Queen

Sunset Boulevard Skirt

I was lucky enough to pick up this skirt from the very talented Dawn Michelle Younger-Smith who makes the most intriguing and beautiful creations from antique and vintage pieces of clothing. Her work can be seen in photo shoots for Vogue, Rolling Stone and People magazine.

http://www.theboudoirqueen.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BoudoirQueen