total timepass...

Where do I even begin. There are tv series, and then there are tv series. And Mr. Sunshine belongs to the second category. Somehow I just did not expect it to have the kind of impact it did. Most of the other K-dramas I have watched before (and there are 11 of them!) were all great in their own right. But Mr. Sunshine is something else. It has touched me and affected me more than the others. And it continues to haunt me even after it's over. Such an epic series. It starts out as a love story, but then turns into an even bigger love story. Love for one's country, for your people around, and for freedom. Mr. Sunshine is the story of Eugene Choi, a Joseon (Korean) child who had fled to the US, and now comes back to his homeland. Initially just to exact revenge for what had happened to him in his childhood. But then he meets a noblewoman, Go Ae-Shin and his life changes. As it does for a few other people, for Gu Dong Mae, a Japanese samurai, for Kim Hui-Seong, a lost nobleman...

I visited the Van Gogh museum recently, again (my third visit actually). It was interesting as always, because one ends up understanding him more and more with each chance to see his art and know more of his life journey. I was able to see more clearly his transformation from a learner to a painter to becoming a master himself. The journey he went through to improve himself, constantly. It is easy to recognise in his earlier paintings, the student, who was experimenting with the art, but hadn't really figured out his own style yet.  Those were especially interesting for me to observe, as I am also on my own journey to learn and enjoy this art. I read about how he used different ways to paint, especially using the perspective frame which explained how he got the dimensions right (it's a learning every painter could use). I also liked his view on art, where he thought painting from reality was more important than from imagination. I am also on the same boat as him on this one. ...

Last fall when the lockdown was lifted for some time, and some of the museums in London had started opening up, I visited the National Gallery. It must have been my 20th or 30th visit to the museum (I don't even remember). But it is definitely my most memorable and impactful one. In the last one year, I have started painting and that has completely changed my outlook towards art. Now I realise how difficult painting some things could be, how critical getting the right colours and light is, and so I am able to appreciate and immerse myself in the paintings a lot more than before. Also I have slowly formed my own opinions and likes in art, so it is a lot more enjoyable appreciating and staring at the pieces I like. Which are generally landscapes, flowers, bright colours and realistic scenes. During these museum visits, I am also figuring out which artists and styles I like, and why. And it doesn't bother me if it doesn't match popular opinion - Art, I've realised is pe...

The various museums I visited in Madrid differ from each other, in their themes and time periods. Like the Prado contains paintings all the way to the 1800s, while the Reina Sofia focuses on modern art. It is a good thing that I read about Reina before going, so I knew what to expect. Else, given its name, I would have expected to see the royal collection of paintings, with Christian themes. And it had nothing close to that at all! The museum owns more than 23 thousand pieces of photographs and paintings. And they are all modern art, from the 1900s onwards. Corridors of Reina Sofia The museum is huge, covering 4 floors plus an extension. It was constructed initially to be used as a hospital but ended up being used as a museum. So its architecture resembles a hospital more than a museum still. All around are corridors lined with rooms where the paintings are housed, far away from each other. And in the middle of the building is a garden which can be seen from the corridors. I had v...

The Thyssen was my favourite museum of the ones I went to in Madrid. And it has an interesting history. This museum showcases paintings collected by the Thyssen-Bornemisza family over the years, one of the largest personal art collections in the world. Even though the Baron was German and wanted to have the display in Germany itself, it ended up shifting to Spain, in the 1990s. Of course, the fact that he was married to a Spanish woman had a part to play in it 😜.   (You can see the museum in 360 view here ) The museum houses some 1600 paintings, some of which the Spanish government bought from the family and the rest are loaned to the museum for a couple of years at a time. Since it is a personal collection, the pieces here span from pre-renaissance times all the way up to modern artists of the 20th century. And the display provides a sort of highlight of the painting styles over the centuries. Galleries of Thyssen The museum is spread over three floors with paintings ...