Time to visit the Henley River and Rowing Museum again, where the featured artist is Martin Ireland. Bladework, showing till July 15, represents his involvement with the Thames and its rowers and his long-time observation of the sweat as well as the beauty of man and blade against water and tide.
It's a small show, 12 paintings and etchings. That struggle with the strength of the river is best seen, I think, in High Tide (pictured). Three of the paintings, though, in narrow oblong format, are from Martin's favourite viewpoint, looking directly down from a bridge on to a single rower who, with his oars, fills the picture space. It's very successful in conveying the dynamism of the stroke. Elsewhere the bridge itself is pictured more prominently and the oarsman is a tiny figure against the swirling current.
Checking the Boat shows us a couple of hefty chaps in shorts. Among the black and white pieces is an impressive composition dominated by an arched bridge looking perilously narrow as the boats sweep underneath.
Until Sunday, you can also see Living Waterways, evoking life on the canals, once a vital aspect of the country's transport, dealt a nearly fatal blow by the coming of the railways and now surviving, if not revitalised, through the leisure industry'. There's lots to see - colourful clothing and decorated houseware, the complex network of canals clustered thickly round the Black Country, and a scale mock-up of the living quarters of a barge (rather too spick and span, I suspect).
Some excellent watercolours are on show too, from the Museum's own collection including several by William Turner of Oxford - Iffley Mill and Folly Bridge among others. Till 1957, barges were still horse-drawn, and if that reminds you of Mr Toad, refresh your memory at the ever-charming permanent walk-through re-creation of The Wind in the Willows.
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