Another year passes... Of Bear Pelts, Buttocks and the Duke Of Devonshire's place.

 Well, I reached the youthful age of 56 yesterday, and spent the day at Leeds Art Gallery which has some great works of art... 

 



and some really dire contemporary 'sculpture', which makes me think that the Arts Council funding needs a severe overhall, because someone must be letting their guide dog make the choices, or is getting financial kickbacks. No pics of this, because frankly it was laughably bad stuff.

The cafe in Leeds Art Gallery is a magnificent 19th century tiled cathedral, which itsel, is a work of art:

 

Our very enjoyable morning was followed by lunch at Estabulo, a very good Brazilian grill, which is pretty much next door, and which was where I almost met my mortal end, due to a surfeit of grilled meats and wonderful salads, which I openly admit to over indulging with - but hey, it was my birthday after all...

The birthday gifts were few, but fine gifts indeed:

 


As you can perhaps see, there were some primo old school models in there.

On Saturday, we made the first of our three planned visits to The Cavendish at Chatsworth, wheer the mid-year menu change has taken place, with the new season being a combination of mainly French and Moroccan flavours.

The Memsahib began with a silky soup of broad beans and courgettes, whilst I opted for poached pear, Serrano ham and smoked cheddar, with pear gel, which was rich yet delicate:


Our main courses were pan seared fillet of Sea Bass with charred vegatables and toasted pine nuts with rich tomato coulis for the Memsahib, whilst I indulged in a Moroccan spice lamb rump, with tabouleh, grilled vegetables and sumptuous puree of smoked aubergine:



Now, I must apologuse for the deconstructed photo of the dessert we both chose, but after the magnificent tahini torte last season, we were bith a little over enthusiastic to get stuck in with the rasperry and lime torte with rasperry tuille. We were well into this king of desserts, when I remembered to reach for the camera...


Over the last week, the Memsahib has been taking a 3 hour lie-in in the morning, and I have had insomnia (I never sleep well after a funeral) and so I've been crawling to my desk and doing 3 hours at my desk, knocking out a LOT of figures:

Yesterday, I decided to tackle a couple of pices I wanted to get sorted. Fisrt up was restoring and repainting the variant Ral Partha wizard on litter I bought a few weeks ago, looking like this:


Yesterday morning before She Who Will Be Obeyed rose from the crypt, I had it looking like this:

I think it will great on the table with the other version I already have:


Having a few minutes left before I needed to shower and make myself the glamourpuss I naturally am, I decided to paint a commander for my Chaos horde, and so I completed Shedon Whelldrake, the Chaos Hell Drake, along with his Killer Chihuahua, 'Cyril':


The callk back to historical gaming is getting increasingly strong now, after the 2 years of solid fantasy acquisitions, so I am wrapping up the project with around 300 more figures to be sent to my painterto truly put the lid on it.

I knew that things were heading that way when during a discussion about remounting some vintage Aurora Rococo Amazons, we mused on a certain range of bear pelt shabraqued horses being more desirable for the job. Yes, I had a serious conversation about buttocks and bear pelts... It was then I realised I needed a break from fantasy.

I fancy some late 17th to early 18th action going forward, so I am starting to ringfence time and funds, and selecting painters for the job.

Well, time passes and I have a fine day in the Peak District planned for today, so I will bid you a fond farewell as I begin week two of the month's holiday.

TTFN

Comments

  1. Pompey Dave19 August 2024 at 11:33

    Don't know about guide dogs, contemporary art looks a lot like a pyramid scheme. The pundits buy a couple of pieces for themselves first, then rave about how great the artist is. Price rockets and the pundits make a fortune.
    Enjoy the peak district, there are so many great places to enjoy.

    ReplyDelete

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