18th February 2026

 

Theodore Rousseau 1812-1867.  Romantic Landscapes

Someone I stumbled on today.  Theodore Rousseau somewhat reminded me of another English artist,  Heywood Sumner who painted the New Forest in the colours, not just of the vegetation but the geological colouring that is part of the whole. Capturing an essence is I suppose how you would call it. I love paintings of trees, here we have lichen, moss and rock as well, a French landscape presumably. I often find that in landscape paintings figures  are of  a poor quality but it doesn't really worry me trees speak their own magic.

What else?  I have been exploring the young political writers of today, and how well they speak.  Though Ash Sarker left me giggling.  When asked about Tony Blair and the Peace Plan, she said, "Well I suppose Satan was unavailable at the time" tis the wicked tongue that wins the day for me.  Owen Jones, Guardian journalist, in his slightly excitable way also is very quick with his words and his damnation of whatever is happening in the news.

I have been worrying over the fact that the BBC in its news hardly covers what I read of the world happenings on YouTube.  At first you jump to the conclusion that things are being kept from you.  But Andrew said, probably not, it is not a downward spiral from the top BBC  echelon but upwards from the journalists who are scared of the consequence of being scrutinised and sued.  @47 was already to take the BBC on.