Glasgow University from The Kelvingrove Park – Watercolour in a Watercolour Moleskine
Glasgow university was founded in 1451 and is rated amongst the highest in our country. It offers studies in most courses and currently is the only place where you can study a range of complete “professions”such as Medicine, Dentistry, Law and Veterinary science. This view shows the main building viewed from the nearby Kelvingrove Park where the River Kelvin winds its way through this part of the city.
Glasgow is completely different from Edinburgh. It is much larger, being Scotland’s largest city and has a dynamic feel to it whereas Edinburgh is more “sedate”. This probably leads to the notion that Glasgow folk perceive Edinburgh folk to be rather stand-offish or just plain “stuck up”. There is a saying about Edinburgh folk that they have airs above their station and they have “pianos but nae drawers”. (Lots of fine furniture on display but cannot afford decent underwear). Edinburgh folk are said to look down on those from Glasgow. Whatever the truth behind all this “banter” I would urge visitors, to Scotland, to include a visit to the “Dear Green Place”. One thing you will find is a population so friendly it is almost embarrassing.(Unless you say you hail from the capital city). Glasgow folk also have a reputation for quick witted comments. This is a true story:
It is impossible to stand still, in Glasgow, while holding a street map. Within seconds someone will offer assistance. A former colleague of mine did just that while visiting George Square in Glasgow’s centre. “Can I help you, Jimmy?” (everyone is called Jimmy in Glasgow). My colleague replied, rather stupidly as it turns out. He said, “Thanks. I have a problem. I am from Edinburgh…” and before he could continue he was met with, “That’s no’ a problem, Jimmy. That’s a disease!”.
KirbysArt 7:07 pm on October 4, 2009 | #
When ever I see someone looking at a map I try to offer assistance. Sometimes it can turn out to be an interesting conversation.
That was funny Bob. Its like Aggies vs Longhorns over here in Texas. Big college rivalry. I don’t know of any animosity against other cities in Texas, that I’m aware of though.
~Kirby
Sophie Brown 9:01 pm on October 4, 2009 | #
This is an interesting one…The tree makes the building seem farther back by the size but also the color makes it seem nearer as well. If you have any “weaknesses” I would guess one might be that you won’t concern yourself with a foreground. But then of course you do it very well, almost magically at times. If I were to hazard a guess I would say that you were intentionally experimenting with perspective here. I don’t experiment enough: I always repeat what I know how to do over and over. Good to step out of that I think.
boulgakow 1:47 am on October 5, 2009 | #
Bob is getting better and better.
Watercolors are often soft, may be too much soft… But Bob managed to make it strong, really contrasted, very very beautiful.
Great !!!
trebor61 1:48 am on October 5, 2009 | #
Thanks Kirby. I had to look up, on the Internet, to find out about Aggies and Longhorns. Interesting but your game of “Football” is a total mystery to us Scots especially the jargon connected with the system of scoring. Football is something else here. Its what you call “soccer” and Glasgow has the two most watched teams in the country – Celtic and Rangers. The rivalry is intense and tends to go over the top. Personally, I can’t stand our football and this in itself is a mystery to my fellow countrymen who cannot fathom anyone who dislikes the “sport”. I suppose out two countries are separated by commong similarities.
Sophie – confession time! I think you must be reading too much into my compostion although you kind description is welcome. I actually drew the big tree as I had painted the tower of the university too near the left hand edge of the page leaving a huge gap of white expanse. Maybe I subconsciously used a cooler colour as I realised that, if I filled the space with more “green” this would dominate the painting. Anyway, good of you to take the time to anylise this and comment.
trebor61 1:51 am on October 5, 2009 | #
Hi Pascal. Amazing. Just replying to Sophie when your comment appeared. Small world. Glad you like this. Although I’ve been experimenting with different media recently, watercolour is still my favourite since I’ve been using the stuff for a long time. Maybe I’ll have a chance to get back to my winter scenes soon as it is definitely much COLDER here today.
Nikira 5:47 am on October 5, 2009 | #
I like this colors behind the tree blue and ochre and tree’s personality.
ziza 9:15 am on October 5, 2009 | #
Two Scotsmen, fater and son are getting to America. Son: “Are we there yet?”
Fater: “Shat-up and keep swimming!”
Nice pic+1
trebor61 10:34 am on October 5, 2009 | #
Thanks Nikira. This is a great time of year for us “tree freaks” as the colours are beginning to become magical.
Ziza – Ah! dear – the old ones are the best eh!
Sophie Brown 1:05 pm on October 5, 2009 | #
We have the most interesting threads in your commments boxes than anywhere else. It’s almost like when groups of friends have one house that just gets more company.
Well anyway it worked out, the “composition” I guess a teacher would call it.
Soccer is becoming something of interest to me. I like the Olympics because of more women’s events, though I could not care less when I was younger. Soccer requires a lot of agility, more like basketball does, true–different with the feet but similar. Also it’s INTERNATIONAL. Our football is like teams of human trucks trying to bulldoze one another with some other skill sets thrown in. Brute machismo like throwing logs. They need those helmets because they’re already halfway to killing one another. I wish we had an international arena for professional sports. Like if the World Series had to include Japan and Cuba and anyone else. I think it would be great. Just take a lot of these Olympians and give them regular jobs or put them on an international touring schedule. It turns out I like soccer a lot but that was a surprise. I certainly wasn’t fully exposed to it. I think the US spent many years only having sports played here. Baseball and football are not truly international interests. I wonder why we even call it football. Plus when I was in high school in another part of the country, high school games were much more the rage and also competitions by different branches of the military. But I lived near the Air Force Academy and that’s why, sometimes we got tickets. I’m a baseball FANATIC and I’m pretty upset about the steroids crap (they need to be thrown out or disgraced because unless you can somehow give the impression that this is REALLY SERIOUS…). Like you take A. Rod and suspend him for a year without pay. The Commissioner should throw them out and then the managers will have a motive to stop this because right now they have no reason to. I wonder, do cricket players seem to be VERY BIG men? Are they sold for $64 million dollars? I guess twisted things and cheating happen everywhere. I wonder if Limey ways of doing so have a different flavor. And are Scots “limeys”? I guess not. I read this really cool book about Dr. Johnson traveling to Scotland, it was a diary kept by this friend of his. It was really good.
trebor61 11:02 am on October 6, 2009 | #
Hi Sophie. Like your comment about a house that gets more company. My time, with skineart, has led to me actually writing to many of the folks who participate on the site as well as using a video cam to speak directly to them. There are also a few links to folks on Facebook as there never seems to be enough space here. I suspect the book you read was about Boswall’s account of his, and Johnson’s trip to the Hebrides and Scotland. This was in the 1770′s and, at that time, we Scots were beginning to feel the backlash of the union of our parliament with that of England.(1707) There arose a great antipathy between the two countries which still exists to this day despite England originally desparately wanting to unite with Scotland (To protect her northern borders and to stop us joining France in conflict against her) To this end, a lot of cash was used to bribe certain members of the Scots nobility which angred the common scotsman. Many, down south, despised Scotland and Johnson was very dismissive in his description of us so he is not really well thought of here – even to this day. Who needs friends when comment like
“The noblest prospect which a Scotchman ever sees, is the high road that leads him to England!”
He would not allow Scotland to derive any credit from Lord Mansfield; for he was educated in England. “Much may be made of a Scotchman, if he be caught young.”
“What enemy would invade Scotland, where there is nothing to be got?”
were directed here. I quite like the English. I just couldn’t eat a whole one at once.
The term “limey” is an American one and, yes, applies to Scots as well as those from other parts of the UK. People, in navies, used to eat lemons to guard against scurvey. We discovered that limes, from our West Indian colonies, seemed to work as well but had to revert back to lemons when it was found they didn’t protect against the disease as well. I believe lemons has to be bought from all over the world including your country which might expain why your anscestors coined the phrase.