MYTHS Pomona and the nature god.

There is a wonderful thought-provoking quality about myths. Something that rings true interwoven in a fairy tale which is timeless. A sort of mixture between a dream and reality.

This picture is about Pomona and Vertumnus a nature god who could assume any shape, and here he is wooing the nymph Pomona. At the beginning he tried to befriend her by disguising himself as an old woman but when this failed, he revealed his true identity as a youthful god; here he is, at the moment when he has just removed his mask.

I liked the idea of painting this myth because I love the story, plus I wanted to paint figures in a landscape and this seemed to be the perfect setting to do both. On the right Cupid sits on the ground next to her and his arrows lie on the ground.

Lincoln

Sometimes you come across an enchanting and unexpected experience and one of those moments was when we visited Lincoln a few weeks back. What a pleasant surprise we had, whilst walking down through the oldest part of the town, with its old fashioned shop-windows just past a corner there it was, this enormous and awesome cathedral bathed in golden light that I never knew was there. For beautiful buildings you think of Oxford and Cambridge but this town rivals any of them and to me, it seems like a well kept secret as the atmosphere is not so crowded as the other two cities are. The cathedral is massive and magical, almost unreal during the night with its finely-kept intricate wooden carvings in the entrance and although we couldn't see it from the inside, it was impressive enough from the outside. Some day I hope to visit Lincoln and its castle with more time to explore inside them. The Cathedral and the castle were built by William the Conqueror. Wonderful buildings that were made to last through the centuries. A real treat.

Back from Ireland !