So last weekend I decided to escape my birthday and pootled off to St Ives to see the Ben Nicholson exhibition at the Tate there. Bearing in mind that I had been to St Ives (albeit it very briefly) three years previously, this was the only reason I decided on St Ives over somewhere foreign (my usual choice of escapism). I'm glad I did. On Saturday, I headed straight for the Tate at opening times and the exhibition was very interesting, I enjoyed wandering through the galleries, but the view from Gallery 2 is amazing, looking out over Porthmeor Beach, I just had to stop and sketch it... who knows if its available in postcard format (it is but only in landscape)... much to the amusement of the gallery staff. Hey, if you have to draw, you have to draw. After that, I moved onto the Barbara Hepworth Scultpure Garden, which has the most beautiful pieces dotted around the (surprisingly small) garden. I also had to resort to my sketch book when the digital camera ran out of batteries, because there was so much to see and record. I cannot rely on the institution having my favourite scultpure in a postcard (they never do). On the Sunday, I did the "Big Bold Drawing Day" at the Saint Ives School of Painting. It was great fun and I met so many lovely people. I was really nervous about drawing on a large scale (about double A0) as the largest I have draw on was A1 for life class. But I had a great time and I am hoping you can see my efforts on this post. If not I will put them in my gallery under holiday scratchings. On Monday I walked up the hill to visit Leach Pottery; the hill was a killer but visiting the pottery was cool - you see the old rooms and kilns where Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada worked, plus some of the items they produced as well as the new pieces the pottery is making. I have always wanted to learn pottery but the classes and I need seem to coincide. Maybe one day..... The harbour is my favourite space (isn't it everyone) and I loved sitting in a restaurant at lunch time just sketching the view. The food was not bad either! I was in total in St Ives for 4 nights and 5 days. I think I managed to see most of the private galleries there, but by no means all of them. Some of them have really interesting pieces, and I did buy two (John Piper, a long admired favourite) and Neil Davies (who has some amazing landscapes). I wish I had plenty of money because there were so many more I would have love to have... but then again I would need to move as I am fast running out of wall space anyway. So that was my weekend in St Ives, I wish I was there again but may be one day...