The last few months have been so hectic on so many fronts, from cruising with Viking, Botanica, Crystal and Seabourn back in the summer to a busy programme of lecturing for the Arts Society from Scotland to the Med... Visiting new cities and countries is always inspiring on so many fronts, from meeting new people, trying new food, admiring new vistas and above all hearing new stories. All these things feed the creative juices, whether it be for painting, just sketching, or for putting together new talks that I hope will inspire and fascinate audiences back home or abroad.
My trip from Bergen to Barcelona in the early autumn with Viking galvanised me into putting three brand new lectures on the block that went down a storm: For my Dutch offerings there is now an additional lecture "Lust, Luxury and Lemons" which brings a sexy new twist (excuse the pun) to Dutch painting in the Golden Age.
Then for the Spanish aficionados there are new crackers "The Magic of the Moors" and "Antoni Gaudi: From Nature into Stone".
Also going down hugely well is a riveting tale about the final years of the Romanovs seen through the prism of the fabulous Imperial eggs, so many of which bore ironic portents of the tragedy that was about to unfold: "Fabergé: the Romanov Sunset". Of the fifty eggs Fabergé produced at least seven are still missing. Where might they be? One might be much closer to home than you would ever imagine....
Adding to the Russian portfolio are two heartbreaking lectures exploring the theme of lyricism in Russian landscape painting...beautiful paintings created only at the expense of personal grief, sorrow and lonelines: "Isaak Levitan and the Poetry of Landscape" and "Lyrical Landscapes: the Art of Russia". Audiences will need lots of handkerchiefs!
Over in the American stable are two newcomers: "Lost Mansions of old New York", exploring the incredible homes of the likes of the Vanderbilts and the Astors, and "In search of Paradise: the paintings of Thomas Cole". which shows how a young man from Bolton Lancashire came to be one of the most important artists in America, a man whose work l contains messages that are even more relevant in our rapidly changing world.
Full synopses can be found over in the Arts Society menu!