November 2020

Big Is Better

I love scale and everything being big. I remember discussions in college about how ‘big is better’. A picture used bigger in a newspaper always has more impact. I remember hearing a story about a picture that was presented to an editor who didn’t like it and wanted something with more punch. The picture editor went away and printed the same picture huge and in colour, as it was originally printed in black & white. It went straight into the paper with the words ‘that’s what I’m talking about’. I met a talented artist Siobhan McLaughlin with her painting Glen Muik at The Lemond Gallery in Bearden. The painting is over over 20 ft long. The gallery was one of the few places that can take such a size of painting. This five panel painting features in her film ‘Landscape in Lockdown’, which was commissioned by The British Art Network, jointly run by The Tate Modern and The Paul Mellon Centre for British Art. The huge scale of the work did it for me, without a doubt big is certainly better.

A New Way To Tip

During this Covid crisis lots of people, including myself have stopped using cash. It was always a thought about how many hands coins had been through by the time they come to you. Now with the pandemic there is concern about catching something from an old 50p piece. The problem was you could not leave a tip for those members of staff that are working to serve us our coffees. I was working at the cool venue The Finnieston on a new pioneering initiative to support waiting staff. Top restaurant group, Kained Holdings had teamed up with TiPJAR and Hospitality Action to kickstart a national charity campaign to help Scottish hospitality workers during the COVID-19 crisis. You pop the app on your phone and you can leave  tip in the virtual tip jar. How cool is that.

The Steamy Sheep

I have been doing a regular couple of miles walk along the old railway track. Usually about between 2 and 3 miles just to try and keep my fitness up and walk off the cake and coffee. It’s a walk that nearly always provides a picture. There are so many regulars on the route, sheep, cows, geese, sheepdogs, birds of prey as well as the usual walkers and cyclists. The sheep had been taken along the path the day I saw them all bundled together. It was really cold  but with all the sheep jammed in the pen, after they had all run through a nearby river made them all start to steam up. It was quite something to watch. They certainly brighten up my Instagram page. This friendly coo also is a regular friendly face. Have a look on my Instagram page.