A Day of Art In Glasgow

I had never been to Glasgow before last Saturday (25 Aug).  Whilst researching the art galleries of the UK I found that there is quite a lot to see in the Scottish city.  So, I booked myself a train ticket and off I went for the day.

My first gallery was the Burrell Collection situated within Pollok Park.  This is not a large gallery, nor is it large on paintings but oh my, what they do have are fantastic.

A friend of mine is a huge fan of Degas and I have told her she must visit this collection, there are lots of Degas to admire.  Other artists such as Cezanne, Renoir and Sisley are displayed too.

The most impressive part about the painting section of the gallery (upstairs in the Mezzanine) was that each room was small with large comfy leather sofas in the middle of the room so you could sit down and view the paintings from a reasonable distance but not lose focus on the painting itself. 

The Ground Floor contained works of pottery, textiles and armour and was also worth a look.  There is a nice cafe where I stopped for a bowl of homemade soup and a lovely fresh salad.  the prices were very reasonable too, £7.75 including free water.

Here is the official website

My second galley was the Kelvingrove and again I was very impressed with what I found there.

This is one of the major museums in the city and whilst it was busy on a Saturday afternoon there was plenty of room for everyone to take their time over the items on display.

Again the paintings on display were just what I wanted, Monet, Sisley, Renoir etc were all here.  I also found myself a new artist who has a painting displayed.  Rachel Ruysch, a Dutch painter from the 17-18th Century.  Her painting is called Flowers in a Terracotta Vase (last picture on this page).  It was such a beautiful painting, even surrounded by Monet & other famous artists.  I took a photo and have printed it on to photo quality paper and framed it.

I also found a few Scottish artists who I knew nothing about, but, that was another point of my visit, learn something new, discover new people and their art.

I took lots of photos and I have uploaded the best to my Flickr account for you all to view.

Next stop is Birmingham on Saturday 8 September.

RAF Orchestra @ Bridgewater Hall

Now that I am back home for an extended period of time (no tennis to dash off to) I decided to have a look at the upcoming concerts at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

The RAF in Concert seem to continue the spirit of Britain that has been flying high this summer so I thought it would be worth a look.  I am going to presume that it will be very similar to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic concert I went to at the Preston Guild Hall when I watched a tribute to John Williams (please see my Review here).

The concert is not until October but it is almost sold out which is a good sign.  I'll write a review once I get back from the concert.

My Latest Update

I was lucky enough to be picked as a Games Maker for the Olympic Games so I have been away in London.

Whilst I was there I managed to fit in a few visits to art galleries.

My first trip was to the Courtauld Gallery within Somerset House. - http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/index.shtml

What a beautiful, intimate gallery this is.  I went on a Friday and it was very quiet, at times I was the only person in the room!  The paintings are gorgeous and I highly recommend that you pay a visit.  Entrance was £6.

The second gallery was at the Royal Academy of Arts.  I went with a friend to see an exhibition from the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute - http://clarkart.edu/museum/

Again this was a beautiful collection of Impressionist art and whilst it was small, it was perfect enough so that you could study each painting in detail and read the descriptive placard to gain further knowledge.  I enjoyed this so much that I purchased the catalogue.

Unfortunately you was unable to take pictures in the Royal Academy but you could at the Courtauld.  I have a Flickr Pro account where I store all my photos and you can view them here:

www.flickr.com/photos/clare2904

You will see photos taken from my stay at the Olympic Village during my time as a Games Maker.

On my final day in London I went on a Thames Boat trip and you can also view photos taken from the boat.

A highlight of my trip was Richmond Park.  I went with a friend hoping to see the wild Deer that live in the grounds.  As you will see from the photos we were very lucky as we saw a group of 3 adult Deer in the fern and they came out into the open so we could see them and take photos.  Later on we found the younger Deer out in the open parkland, sitting about and enjoying the sunshine.

I hope you enjoy :-)