Menonday Art Vibe; Auld Kirk

Stobo is a village in the Scottish Borders. I haven't visited there since I was a kid. Perhaps I ought to remedy that this coming year.

I kept a fair bit of the wall around the image as I photographed it to emphasise that it is really quite small—it's about A4 size. The first thing that struck me was that the image itself is quite photographic in its quality, which is a challenge in oil paints, given the propensity for the medium to take on the texture of the brush being used. His painting style made more sense when I read that this artist was first an etcher. Also, knowing the church, it was fun to see it depicted in this way. (If you would like to read a little of the church's history, click here.)  As most of you will be unfamiliar, the door which has been left out on this version by McIntosh is on this shadowed wall, up a flight of steps (and not, as might be thought, at the foot of the bell tower). 

Another thing that attracted me to the image is the stooks of corn. I can remember as a toddler being in the fields on Grandad's hill farm and watching the stooks being made... then along came the great innovation called a 'baler'...

Is there a painting or other artwork you love because of the childhood memories it sparks?