Amongst the many extraordinary things in Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, this superb self-portrait by Scottish artist Jacob More caught my eye. What an outfit for plein-air painting trip! He’s in very distinguished company in the galleries of artists’ selfies: Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, Lely…

Was Malevich’s famous Black Square of 1915 so original? Not according to this fascinating blog by @bryonycoombs.bsky.social on the medieval ‘Contemplacioun of Synnaris’, an illustrated manuscript attributed to a Scottish Friar, William Touris: euppublishingblog.com/2024/09/30/b...

💫A couple of days ago I had a VERY exciting day💫 A box has arrived with advance copies of my new book and I am delighted with it! With enormous thanks to @EdinburghUP for being such a fantastic press to work with! 📚🎉🍾✨#culminationof10yrswork!

Really enjoyed the Henry Raeburn Eye-to-Eye exhibition at Kirkcudbright Galleries today: www.kirkcudbrightgalleries.org.uk/event/eye-to... Some stunning originals and some awful copies for comparison! All at viewer level so you really can get eye-to-eye. A revelation.

Well, what a great evening of music-making at St Mary’s, Haddington. Concerto Copenhagen with an intriguing programme of 17th-century music by composers from the Baltic and North Germany. Jakob Bloch Jesperson was the soloist - a wonderfully mellow and warm bass, both powerful and delicate.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has stated that the Buildings at Risk Register (BARR) will be paused while alternative approaches are considered following a review.

I collect old photographs of buildings and places in Scotland. I have now scanned a few of Central Edinburgh and stuck them on my website. Do have a browse (better on a laptop than a phone, but both should work): www.conserve.scot/edinburgh-ol...

Last February I visited the Astley Ainslie Hospital in Edinburgh - to see the buildings rather than as a patient. Finally produced a short blog post historic-hospitals.com/2024/08/30/a... It's a cracking site - and I hope the building below finds a new use.

Check out this major new survey of historic Scottish furniture by Stephen Jackson. Published by National Museums Scotland: shop.nms.ac.uk/products/sco.... Groundbreaking research, beautifully written and a shed-load of images, including some by me!