Buckingham Palace and the National Gallery

My last night in London. Huma and I weaved through thick trees in the park near Buckingham Palace. When we stopped at the lit up gates, the stone balconies, and the hundreds of tiny windows, I couldn't help but imagine The BFG stooping there with Sophie in his ear. Huma took my hand in the cold and whispered, "It's not bad, hey?" It's not bad, y'all.

Before our palace treck we lingered at The National Gallery. Here are some of my favorite paintings from the visit:

Surprise! By Henri Roussou.

I love the way the tiger stripe lines are repeated in the diagonal leaves, and even, if you look closely, in the faint brushstrokes of the rain. I am reminded of Elaine Scarry's book that merges aesthetics and ethics, On Beauty. In it, she uses the example of the palm frond and radial line-making as an artists way of replicating beauty. I think Roussou likewise replicates the tiger's beauty into all the facets of the canvas environment.

Long Grass with Butterflies by Vincent Van Gogh. 

Huma says the butterflies depicted in this spiky, disturbed pastoral-- moth like and gray--  are the only common type in England. Even in real life they look like paint dabs.

 

Whistlejacket.
The name of the Arabian. In person, his eyes look electrically alive.

Louvre Under Snow.
Something about looking at snowscapes makes me feel oddly warm.
This one is what heaven must be.

P.S. It's move in and "Freshers Week" at Kent University... aka lots of pub crawls OMG WTF W/E, but seriously, wish me courage!