Edward Hopper’s perfectly painted dilemma, yet I cannot say what it is exactly — For a few years now, I’ve had a postcard of this painting tacked to my study wall. It’s called Pennsylvania coal town and it was made by Edward Hopper in 1947. Whenever I stop my work and look up at this painting, I can’t help but feel that Hopper painted…

What do you make of an artist who lived like this? — In this intriguing self-portrait, Paul Gauguin portrays himself with a halo above his head and a thin, sinuous snake between the fingers of his hand. The overlapping stems of a meandering plant form a rhythmic pattern in front of him. Along with the two apples that hang ominously beside his…

Let me get to the point without messing around. Medium works for me because I’ve found a writing niche that truly suits me and I’ve been consistent in writing two, sometimes three, pieces a week. If you want to become a writer, then Medium is a good place to be…

Is it time to release the artist within? — I’m here to tell you: anyone can be an artist. There’s no special method to being creative, nor are there any perfect conditions. The urge to make art comes from within and is often irresistible. Yet for some people, acting on their creative impulse requires encouragement because they believe that…

A female artist from Germany who broke the rules — This painting is, in my view, one of the greatest paintings of the 20th century. It is not a well-known image, yet it deserves to be considered among the very best works of recent art. I must admit to having a particular fondness for the artist who painted it. Her…

A brilliant sting in more ways than one — There are so many noteworthy things about this painting, it’s hard to know where to begin. Thought to have been made by the French artist Georges de La Tour in around 1630, the painting is from the early part of his career — before he turned his brush to his…

My country is in mourning — and it’s a bizarre thing — Here in the UK, there is a perplexing series of events taking place. As I write, the queue to see the Queen’s coffin as it lies in state in Westminster Hall is three miles long. It winds around the streets of London, block after block. People have queued through the…

Reading “The Blind Girl” by John Everett Millais — Two girls are huddled beneath a shawl as a storm passes overhead. The luminosity of the colours tells us that the sun has returned, brightening the hillside, bathing everything in a fresh light. Perched on the bank of a stream, the two girls wait for the final few drops of…

Chalk Cliffs on Rügen by Caspar David Friedrich — This painting, by the German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich, was painted in 1818 on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. Chalk Cliffs on Rügen shows three hikers testing their nerve on the edge of a sudden and vertiginous drop. Ahead of them, a set of jagged rocks…