Sketchbook: Dock Leaves

I always admire the colours of the dock leaves at this time of year. These ones were collected from our road verges. This study is in watercolour/Aquarelle pencil on A3 bamboo paper. I was concentrating on colour and pattern in this piece.

Jack Vettriano Retrospective at the Kelvingrove

We were up in Glasgow on Tuesday and looked in on the Jack Vettriano Retrospective at the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery. Entry is £5 (£3 concessions) and the exhibition ends on 23 February 2014.

 

The paintings feel connected in content and look like scenes from gangster movies of the 40s. I like his style of painting, and the art works are enormously popular. Some of the paintings on display were owned by celebrities such as Jack Nicholson.

 

My favourite painting shows Sir Malcolm Cambell on the sands at Utah with his car Bluebird, ready to break the land speed record. See an image of it here.

The rest of the Kelvingrove is well worth looking around, too, of course.

If you fancy a spot of lunch afterwards, I can recommend the Mother India's Cafe opposite. We had a superb lunch of four mixed vegetarian dishes (aubergine fritters, chana daal (split yellow peas in a spicy sauce), baby aubergines with potatoes, and okra with tomatoes), with rice and nan bread. All delicious, and differently spiced. The cafe has a nice, informal feel, with friendly waiting staff and fast service.