We discovered this little oasis on our travels round Edinburgh the other day. Not exactly guerrilla gardening but certainly someone who is making the best of the space available to them.

You have to get down to the Botanic Gardens to see the Jungle City exhibition before it goes on tour at various locations in Edinburgh next month.  The idea behind it is to raise funds to assist the survival of endangered species.

The Independent raises the question of The Edinburgh International Festival and its association with sponsorship for some events in the official festival from the Chinese Government, which has been criticised by human rights groups.

Councillor Andrew Burns draws our attention to the fate of St Kentigern’s Church which is being decided by the Development Management Committee today. There is a planning application to convert the church to a restaurant and flats which Councillor Burns does not feel is quite the right development proposal for the building.

 

One of the finest paintings by Robert Gemmell Hutchison, possibly the best loved of Scottish artists, is for sale at the Annual Scottish Sale at Bonhams, Edinburgh on Wednesday 31 August. It has an estimate of £120,000-180,000.

‘Sea Gulls and Sapphire Seas’ was painted in 1909 and represents the artist at the height of his powers. In a dazzling display of impressionistic technique, Hutchison places a characteristic foreground of children in the sand dunes against the sparkling sea and whirling gulls. Many of his most popular paintings feature children playing beside the sea and he often used his daughters and their friends as models in coastal locations in Berwickshire, East Lothian and Carnoustie.

A prolific painter all his life, Gemmell Hutchison exhibited tirelessly and successfully but never allied himself to a particular school of Scottish painting such as the Colourists or the Glasgow Boys.

The Head of Pictures at Bonhams, Scotland, Chris Brickley said, “In its ambition and confidence ‘Sea Gulls and Sapphire Seas’ is one of Gemmell Hutchison’s best works. It’s a superb coming together of all the elements which have made him such a popular figure in Scottish art.”

But the first part of The Scottish Sale takes place this week . The online catalogue is here

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