Location
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Tram
I know we now have trams in England again, but to me the sight of a tram on the streets of a continental European city still feels rather satisfyingly foreign. I was pleased therefore to discover there are many trams in Budapest. This particular unit is running along the “Pest” bank of the Danube, where…
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Two Statues
This unlikely pair are to be found in front of the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest. The rather casual and lanky Attila Jozsef in the foreground was a very popular local poet writing between the 1st and 2nd World Wars. The more classical equestrian statue behind is of Ferenc Rakoczi, who fought against the Habsburgs…
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Nikko II
The temples in Japan are extremely elegant – none more so than this example in Nikko called Rinno-ji (輪王寺). I suspect that I could have painted a more accurate picture of this building using brushes, or drawn it more cleanly using a pen, but I have to say that spreading these rich colours across the…
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Torii
The island of Naoshima, situated in the Seto Sea just off the mainland coast of Japan, is well known for its contemporary art exhibitions and installations. However, as far as I am aware this torii gate which we saw on that island is not a piece of art, but in fact a real torii gate…
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Nikko (日光市)
Nikko is a popular tourist site in the mountains to the north of Tokyo, full of superb shrines and temples, nearby a picturesque lake and several onsen (hot springs), and at this time of year full of autumn colours. There is also this bridge, which no longer carries any traffic but which (for obvious reasons)…
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Box
I have mentioned before about my liking of the box or kei cars in Japan. On my recent visit I was pleased to see they are as abundant as ever on the roads, and the most recent designs are even smarter than before. This one caught my eye early on in the trip – I’m…
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Vittoriosa
The old town of Vittoriosa was once an important place. Originally known as Il-Birgu, it became the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller when they established themselves on Malta, and following the successful repelling of an Ottoman siege in 1565 it gained the name Città Vittoriosa (Victorious City). Today it is much quieter, and there are…
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Stonehenge
These stones have been here for a very, very long time, and hence exert a fascination on many people. The A303 main road, which passes close by Stonehenge, has only existed for a relatively brief time but already exerts a horror to many drivers because of the seemingly permanent traffic jams near the stones. I…
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Autumnish
We all know autumn well – it is something that occurs every year. This happens to be an autumnal view along the Pilgrims Way as it crosses Reigate Hill, although it could be almost anywhere at this time of year. This also happens to be a picture that I painted four years ago, although it…
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View From A Plane
I suppose most of us have seen this type of view, which is both constantly changing but which also seems to have stayed the same throughout the many hours of the flight. For the record the photo from which this is drawn was taken during the descent of a flight into Singapore, and from the…
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View from Blackfriars
On our way back home recently, after visiting a Van Gogh exhibition in London, we found ourselves waiting for a train at Blackfriars Station. The view from the southbound platform (which spans the Thames) is always inspiring, and on this occasion at dusk the view was more than a bit like Vincent’s painting “Starry Night…
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Bruges – Steenstraat
Here is another picture of Bruges, this one of a baroque Flemish building that is now a clothes shop on Steenstraat. I have attempted a degree of what I think is called geometric abstraction – and whilst the amount of abstraction that I have achieved is rather limited, nevertheless the overall result is quite pleasing,…
Doodling ... 