Light From The West - oil painting exhibition, Ulster Museum || Photofeed

I like art galleries and museums above all for the atmosphere there. Muffled whispers, echoing footsteps and a piercing chill. Oil paintings - like electronics - do not like heat, direct sunlight or humidity.

Engaging with classical art requires enjoyment and concentration.

Barriers mark the border between mortality and varnish-scented immortality.

The eyes of blasé, passionate, joyful or disappointed girls follow the viewer's every step.

Foaming with leaden white,
the waves darken with deep indigo and glow with royal blue.

They wash warm ochres and dim sienna from the sand.

The green of the Emeraude forming patches of grasses
awaits for the flower buds to blossom in cadmium red.

Gazing at the painting long enough, we can almost hear the steps of hand-stitched slippers and the rustling of taffeta gowns. We can feel the delicacy of lace, appreciate the transparency of tulle and feel the softness of wool carpets.

It has been a very long time since I visited any classical art exhibition. In fact, I haven't been to any art exhibition for a very long time. And I came across this exhibition by pure chance. My Mum flew to visit us in Ireland, and I managed to persuade her to stay a few days with me in Belfast. As she loves plants and flowers - I took her to the botanical gardens at the Ulster Museum. And as we were two steps away from this museum - I decided to take Mum there as well.

The Ulster Museum has temporary exhibitions in addition to the permanent exhibition (which, by the way, is huge, and it is almost impossible to visit everything in just one day). This time we managed to get to an excellent exhibition of Irish oil painting. I didn't think we would spend almost a whole day there. In addition to a variety of canvases by great artists like P.A. Renoir, Sir W. Orpen, J.B. Yeats there was also a solo exhibition by Sir John Lavery. I will add photos from the latter in the next post in the series about the Ulster Museum.

I must admit that I really missed interacting with such great talents. I would have been happiest spending hours with each canvas tracing the brushstrokes and the mastery of rendering nature with oil and pigments. It seems as if time stands still and in fact it flows faster than usual. There is always too little of it to savour, to admire.

I enjoy staring so much. To have time to stare is the greatest happiness.