The Gate to the Isles

 

     Over at Stuck in a Book, Simon has set a very interesting challenge: to post a picture which sums up your reading taste (and no actual books allowed!).

     I've chosen The Gate to the Isles (Blue Gate), 1980, by Winifred Nicholson, a painting I love and one which does, I think, represent my life in books. There's a well-trodden path and the open gate leading on to vast space  - a wild place beyond the garden - so there's a wealth of possibilities out there but a landscape which is, certainly as painted, benign and welcoming and with a degree of enclosure when that's what's wanted, as well as limitless scope for the imagination and the mind to range free and make discoveries.

    Here's what Alice Strang says about the picture in her book Winifred Nicholson in Scotland: "The Gate to the Isles expresses the joy and optimism which Winifred maintained throughout her life and contains the element of spirituality which was at the heart of her personality. The gate [on the island of Eigg] marked the boundary of the Gamekeeper's Cottage garden. The title refers to the Highland myth in which the souls of the dead go west to the Islands of the Blest, to live in paradise with the gods." 

   You can see more of Winifred Nicholson's work on this site, and then there's Christopher Andreae's book (which I don't have but covet).

   If you'd like to take up Simon's challenge and post a picture on your own site, please come back here and leave a comment to let us know, and many thanks to Simon for such a pleasant exercise!