Friday, March 7, 2014

All the Frills: Home Cathedral

For this edition of All the Frills Fridays, I’d like to feature a few of my favourite pieces of art that adorn the walls of my home. In particular, these five gorgeous pieces by my Calgary-based uncle, Kenneth Thomas.


Growing up, Uncle Ken was a hero of mine, and he still is. Ken is a polymath and world traveler in the truest sense of those terms. He’s read almost every academic thing I’ve ever written and loves to talk about them analytically. He spends a large measure of his visits to Edmonton scouring used book shops for treasures (which has become a favourite pastime of mine as well) and has gifted me some of my most treasured editions of volumes. Also, the man lives for travel. Having lived abroad in Europe for many years (mainly in Vienna) and making extensive trips back there over the past few decades, his work life now is pretty much entirely geared to simply setting aside enough extra cash in a given year to jet off somewhere he’s never been before (most recently it was a few months in Mongolia and surrounding areas of the globe).

He’s also a gifted artist who has done a breathtaking series of sketches (some simply in pencil and others in coloured pencil) of churches and cathedrals across Europe. I have a large number of his pencil sketches of churches packed away carefully in storage (his various depictions of Durham Cathedral are a personal favourite), waiting until I have enough walls in my home to frame and display them all but I also have these two lovely series that he’s done of various architectural details of cathedrals. Every time I walk by the walls on which these hang, I get a smile on my face and want desperately to plan a jaunt to Cambridge or Edinburgh.

And, now, onto some links!


8 comments:

welldressedmaker said...

I cannot believe those stained glass images are drawn out. They are magnificent. Your uncle is an amazing artist! AND I am super envious of his travel log!

Closet Fashionista said...

Oh how cool! I love those three last ones, stained glass?
And your uncle sounds so cool!! I want to be just like him when I'm older, he he.
http://www.closet-fashionista.com/

FASHION TALES said...

Your Uncle Ken sounds like a very talented artist. This is what I like most, viewing what art other people hang in their home and why. Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to get back to painting and drawing soon.

Lyosha Varezhkina said...

very inspiring to work in my own home

Lyosha
Inside and Outside Blog

Unknown said...

Those are beautiful! I've been looking for some great art work to put up in my office.

-Vogue&Heels
www.vogueandheels.com

Annie L said...

Wow, these are really beautiful pieces. Love the way you styled your home!
xo Annie
New England Romance

Marie a la Mode said...

Your uncle is very talented! And that link to Kevin Spacey and Buzzfeed was hilarious, thanks for posting that ; )

Jessica said...

You have one talented uncle. I seriously love the artwork on your bookcase.

Tracy @ Sunny Days and Starry Nights