Day of contrasts

Referendum result in, considered, discussed with family and out to one side, I headed to London.  All access roads to the station were closed due to this.

The Kneller Hall Freedom March.  Very odd to see this in a suburban setting.

Then off to the Mall Galleries to see the Derwent Prize exhibition, the Sunday Times Watercolour exhibition and New Light, an exhibition of the work of northern artists.  I love this gallery, although the turnaround of exhibitions is so quick, it is easy to miss a potential favourite.

The first thing that struck me about the Derwent Prize was the variety of media that were used, I  had not expected this.  Many of the drawings were technically superb, and the artists I was drawn ( !)  to were:  Jessie Brennan, whose series of 4 drawings, " A Fall of Ordinariness and Light" was phenomenal; Robert Ewing, whose colour palette was intriguing; and lastly Sonja Hillen, who combined very gentle coloured pencil with stitch on canvas.  The inclusion of these pieces really surprised me in the context of this exhibition.

The watercolour exhibition was superb, and again I was surprised at the number of different media in the works: gouache, pastel, ink, pencil and watercolour.  I loved the work of David Firmstone in particular, huge pieces for watercolour.

The New Lights exhibition was smaller, a mix of well-established artists and lesser-known individuals.  This was very varied, and the artist whose work I kept going back to was Diana Armstrong, who combines painting and gilding in canvases that change constantly in he light.  Some of her subject mater was not to my taste, but March Hares definitely was.

Out to the Mall, in the sunshine, where there were some wedding memories being captured.

Then home to the unexpected pleasure of eating and drinking outdoors until very late in the evening.