Jane

Mansion

Magnificent Mansions – Palace of Knossos

The Palace of Knossos stands as a monumental symbol of Minoan civilization, due to its construction, use of luxury materials, architectural plan, advanced building techniques and impressive size.

Galleries

HOTA – Home Of The Arts – on the Gold Coast

The Gold Coast near Brisbane is home to a new gallery opened in 2021 named HOTA – Home Of The Arts, its Rubik-cube shaped building provides a splash of colourful along the river front.

Mansion

Magnificent Mansions - King Tutankhamun's Tomb

After 6 years working in the Valley of the Kings, located near Luxor (Thebes, in ancient times, the capital of Egypt), Lord Carnarvon told Carter he would only fund one more season - in this year, 1922, the tomb of King Tutankhamun’s was discovered. image credit: Khanacadamy.com

Mansion

Magnificent Mansions - Highclere Castle

Highclere Castle is the mansion used in the TV series and recent movie Downton Abbey. Built in Jacobethan style during the C19th, it is located in Hampshire, England and is the country seat of the Earl of Carnarvon, currently George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon.

Celebration

Platinum Jubilee - Queen Elizabeth II

Over four days this last weekend Britain celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II – incredibly Her Majesty has reigned for 70 years. Little did she know that her pledge at the Coronation in 1952 would continue for a record reign.

Mansion

Magnificent Mansions - Chavenage House

Chavenage House is an Elizabethan house, steeped in history nestled in the glorious countryside of the Cotswolds. It has only been owned by 2 families, the Stephens and now the Lowsley-Williams, with the current family still in residence.

Mansion

Magnificent Mansions – Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle, the oldest royal residence in the British Isles. Beloved home to many royals including Queen Elizabeth II.

Glass

Cairns Cathedral - Creation Windows

The Creation Windows in St Monica’s Catholic Cathedral, Cairns, Far North Qld, Australia were designed and made by Gerry Cummins and Jill Stehn. They depict the story of creation taken from the Book of Genesis.

Outback

Jane and Anne's Tour of Northern Victoria and SouthWest New South Wales

Jane & Anne are off on a trip to Broken Hill in SW New South Wales. We will keep you up to date with the sights & art that abounds in this area. Today Bendigo - learn how William Dexter from Melbourne in Derbyshire stood with the Bendigo diggers!

Nature

Incredible Shell Museum at Inverloch, Victoria, Australia

The Shell Museum located in Inverloch, Victoria houses a remarkable collection of sea shells. It boasts as one of the world’s best displays of shells, with over 6,000 specimens from all corners of the globe including many local varieties. Credit - Author's photo

Nature

A Sandringham Sunset

It’s autumn in Australia and at Easter time in Melbourne its often cold, wet and winter. On Easter Saturday this year it was like a summer’s day with a magical sunset. Credit - Author's photo

Seascapes

Hover over Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia

Relax while you look out over Port Phillip Bay and marvel at the "Winhover" sculpture created by Lenton Parr.

Gardens

Blue Lotus Water Gardens

The Blue Lotus Water Gardens is nestled in the foothills of the Yarra Valley on the outskirts of Melbourne covering 14 acres with magnificent ponds and gardens features a range of waterlilies and lotus plants. (my own photo)

Fashion

Gabrielle Chanel - Fashion Manifesto

Gabrielle Chanel - Fashion Manifesto Exhibition, right on our doorstep at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.

Exhibition

Eye to Eye with the Ceiling of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel

Tucked away above a large Melbourne shopping centre is a small exhibition space featuring 34 of Michelangelo's magnificent frescos from the Sistine Chapel – displayed at full size and at eye level

Street Art

Street Artists of Ghent

Today we look at two artists with very different styles, who grew up in Ghent and making their mark on the street art scene. Bué The Warrior is inspired by comic books and pop art, and paints colourful walls while Roa uses a monochromatic palette with a strong obsession for animals and rodents.

Europe

Ghent - Manhattan of the Middle Ages

Ghent is known for its open, rebellious, and innovative attitude and is one of the most beautifully preserved medieval towns in Europe and often dubbed the ‘Manhattan of the Middle Ages’ due to its abundance of gothic towers, The vibrant city boasts more than 1,000 years of history.

Collector

Mysteries and Memories of Boxes

What is it that attracts us to collect boxes and treasure them? Firstly the memories they invoke – how we acquired them and the personal stories we attach to them. And secondly the mystery of what they contain – from meaningless paraphernalia to treasured keepsakes.

Patterns

Patterns in Nature: Trees

For all those of you frustrated because you couldn't find the second tawny frogmouth - today we give you the answer. And also a close look into the patterns on the trunks of Australian gum trees - the glorious Eucalyptus.

Murals

Art Murals of Sandringham

Blank walls and traffic light signal boxes painted with attractive art murals in my suburb of Sandringham, a beachside area of Melbourne, Victoria. The colourful art works are being funded by a grant from the Victorian Government to our local Bayside Council.

Brazil

Bring in the New Year by escaping to the Amazon Rainforest

We are going to welcome in the New Year by escaping into an Amazon Rainforest with Jan and Mary Tuijp. You can enjoy the amazing photography and "teleport" yourself to a completely different world.

Celebration

Happy Christmas 2021

From all of the AnArt4Life blog team to all of our wonderful subscribers and social media followers - a very Happy Christmas with family and friends.

Christmas

The Night before Christmas

The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas", more commonly known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, was first published anonymously in 1823 and later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, who claimed authorship in 1837. Image credit: youthareawesome-com

Christmas

Christmas Cards by Anton Pieck

Anton Pieck 1895 - 1987, was a Dutch engraver, painter, etcher and book illustrator. His drawings and paintings were always set in the past, particularly the 19th century. From 1938 on he started designing Christmas cards which became a huge success.

Christmas

Christmas Cards

Sending Christmas cards, as we know them today, was started in the UK in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole. The tradition lives on today with a 20% surge in the sales of Christmas cards in 2020 and to my surprise the leadership in this growth is attributed to millennials