In love with Van Gogh

I just had a 36 hour whirlwind trip to the smoke to grab some culture.

Because of the dire weather warnings and the sheet ice across the width of our lane, I wasn’t sure I was going to make it, or even to get home again afterwards, but Dave is the man for extreme weather and he drove me to the train in Chesterfield.

I stayed with Het, my lovely friend and partner in crime. This is the official selfie for the trip.

I wanted to see the National Gallery exhibition of Van Gogh paintings called Poets and Lovers. I decided in September that I wanted to see it, and it has since had five star reviews from all the leading papers. And no wonder it has. It was so uplifting. It was stupendous. And I have come back with great memories and lots of inspiration for my paintings. It’s the most memorable exhibition I’ve seen since I saw the Hockney A Bigger Picture in 2012. (Which incidentally gets a mention in my book Plotting for Grown-ups.)

We also went to see the Monet in London exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery, another sell out. I booked those tickets for us, and Het was in charge of the Van Gogh booking at the National Gallery. After a hairy glitch - when we thought we’d be missing it - Het managed to snag slots for us at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning. Thank goodness for the glitch! We were the first in the queue when the gallery opened, alongside a couple who had flown in from Canada just to see the exhibition! When they told us that, I thought ‘that’s a bit extreme’ but in retrospect…I’m sure it was worth the trip.

Being there first thing in the morning - an hour earlier that the gallery usually opens - meant it was possible to see all the paintings up close with no crowds. When I’ve been to other major exhibitions there have been so many people milling around it has not been ideal. On Saturday it felt like a private viewing. And there were so many paintings I had never come across before. They’d been flown in from all over the world, a handful even from private collections. Rock on the curators who organised the exhibition. I really was blown away by the paintings. My favourites were of the gardens and this one of the olive trees, 

But I was also taken with The Peasant:

There was interesting quote displayed from Van Gogh’s letters which relates to this (as well as to other paintings.)

The last time I saw Van Gogh it was an immersive experience in Denver, which I did not enjoy at all. I love Van Gogh’s painting, I love his paintings - the colour, the vibrancy, the emotion! I’m still aglow with the experience a day later. I’ll remember it for a long time, and it is going to influence my work.