National Portrait Gallery – Jennifer Michie

September 8, 2022 / 0 Comments

HM Queen Elizabeth II

HM Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – 2022)

She was a constant in a world that continually evolved. She led a privileged life, but with that came great personal sacrifice. She was a woman of faith and a strong sense of duty. She lived a life of service and did that with grace and dignity. She had a quick wit and a kind smile.

We have all lived through a historic moment, The Queen was the longest reigning monarch in British History. It is remarkable and something that will not likely come to pass again within our lifetimes. She was highly respected and very much beloved.

May she now know true peace and may her family find comfort in the days ahead.

Our thoughts, prayers and good wishes are with them all. For the world has lost a remarkable woman, but her children and grandchildren will lay their heads on their pillows tonight for the first time without her.

Farewell, Your Majesty. Thank you Ma’am, for everything. You are now back with your “strength and stay”

{Queen Elizabeth II | by Baron (Sterling Henry Nahum) | glossy bromide print, 1953 12 1/2 in. x 12 in. (318 mm x 305 mm) overall | National Portrait Gallery Collection | Found HERE}

September 5, 2014 / 0 Comments

The First Week

Party Girls, 1983

Today, completes our first back to school week. It has been busy, hectic, I’ve had a lot of catching up to do with colleagues and students, a fair bit of running around and unpacking deliveries and prepping studio spaces for the new year with brand new materials. We’ve not slowly got back in to the swing of things, instead, we’ve dove right in. I kinda like it like that.

The 5am wake-up has made me very excited for tomorrow morning as I am turning the alarm OFF! Tonight we are getting gussied up and going on our first back to school date night of the year to see the Virginia Woolf exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. I love that they have late nights on Thursdays and Fridays, it is always a treat to visit on these evenings, especially in the winter, when it gets dark early, there is something magical about being in a museum at night.

After the exhibition, we are heading out somewhere for delicious food, I think Five Guys french fries might be calling my name, but we’ll see.

Here’s to the weekend, long may it last!

{1983 Party Girls found HERE}

February 8, 2014 / 0 Comments

Late Shift

Even the floor is beautiful!

Mr. Michie was coming in to London to meet me for a date last night after a very long week of work. While I was awaiting his arrival, I did one of my favorite things: the Late Shift at the National Portrait Gallery. They had a drawing class, a choir singing Bach, and many other happenings hidden in different gallery spaces.

It is always a mini adventure. I normally put my headphones on and go visit a few of my favorite pieces, although without fail I always discover something new, a painting or bust I hadn’t paid attention to before. I came across a mini Vivien Leigh exhibition in the downstairs gallery. What a stunning woman! One photograph that caught my eye was this one:

NPG P742; Vivien Leigh by Madame Yevonde

by Madame Yevonde, colour dye transfer print, 1936

This image doesn’t even begin to do this print justice. It is a color dye transfer print, which was a process used by Technicolor. The red was so very vibrant, but not garish, it was almost surreal.

The building is just buzzing with energy it is such a great place to be and an interesting way to spend your Friday night.

October 10, 2013 / 0 Comments

A Friday Date

Last Friday, Mr. Michie came into London to meet me after work. I had planned a mini date. The great thing about living in London is all of the magic that is on your doorstop. For one, the plethora of museums. I have my favorites, I will admit!

My feet decided to take me to the National Portrait Gallery on Friday. It was a Late Shift evening so there was a lot going on, the bar was open, there were lectures, a harp player upstairs and a very eclectic crowd. There is something special about being in a museum in the evening, it comes alive in a different way.

I wanted to see the Jonathan Yeo portraits and once I saw them, I knew that Mr. Michie would like them as well.

I loved the unfinished pieces. I loved that you could clearly see where he had graphed out his canvases. Some of the faces were almost unreal looking, there was a photographic quality to them.

After a snoop around we picked up some cheeseburgers at Five Guys. We sat in one of our favorite spots, ate too many french fries and drank too much vanilla coke, and talked and talked. It was a lovely date!