Portraits and tulips
Enjoyed the Dutch Portraits exhibition at the National Gallery today. A wonderfully inspirational mixture of characters – admirals, merchants, couples, babies, old people,families with ten children, burghers, regents, military men. Must find out what what Syndics and Jurists are, exactly. Amazing how many of the people represented are painted with affection. There are one or two posers wearing sugarloaf hats, expensive lace and ridiculously frilly tunics, pantaloons and boots who deserve a good kick up the backside, but only a handful.
Reworked an idea into something I’m pleased with. Be interesting to see whether I can sustain it. Two days of sunshine in a row; that’s certainly cheering.
Bergman dead yesterday and now Antonioni. Alan Jackson comes to mind:
A tulip fell deid ba ma doorstep the day,
Dark red, the colour o blud.
Twas the only wan come up this year.
I imagine it fell wi a thud.
Two thuds.
Ian Whybrow has been publishing children's books since 1989.