In the summer last year, I visited an exhibition in the Sainsbury Wing at The National Gallery of Monet's Architectural paintings. and it was wonderful.

One cannot begin to appreciate great art when it is viewed in books, as the subtleties of the colours and glazes are not fully represented, and Monet’s work definitely needs to be seen because he was such a master of colour and expressive brush strokes.

I decided to become a member of The National Gallery and this has meant that I have been able to visit exhibitions there free of charge throughout the year.
One of the main reasons I joined was that the Sainsbury Gallery brochure on forthcoming events said that they were featuring a major collection of Joaquin Sorolla’s work from all over the world – one of the first times such a great exhibition of his work has been featured in this country. Sorolla is known as “The Spanish Master of Light” I had seen some of his paintings in a major Impressionist’s “Gardens” exhibition at The Royal Academy and was astounded by his work. It is my aim to visit his home in Madrid to see the wonderful work he has left to the nation of Spain

I spent a couple of days in London with a friend and it was truly wonderful, just to see so much of his work. We spent hours there. However, we made the most of our time, also visiting The Bankside Gallery, where there was an exhibition by The Royal Watercolour Society. The Tate Modern, The National Portrait Gallery, and, of course, headed for “favourites” in The National Gallery. It was a very busy and memorable trip, and we had lots of fun, but there was so much more we wanted to see. It was my hope visit London more regulary but circumstances have made that impossible. However, I shall aim to visit again as soon as the opportunity arises.

I grew up in London and visiting the major art venues was one of my favourite pastimes from a fairly young age.