Eleanor Allen Moore – from Kilmarnock to Shanghai

Eleanor Allen Moore – from Kilmarnock to Shanghai

Eleanor Allen Moore – from Kilmarnock to Shanghai

Very taken with this perky self portrait by Eleanor Allen Moore one of Scotland’s many overlooked woman artists of the early 20th century. Eleanor Allen Moore was originally born in County Antrim. A minister’s daughter, she attended Kilmarnock Academy in 1902 and later went to the Glasgow School of Art. After graduating she couldn’t afford a model so posed for herself in her early paintings. For the oil painting above,

The penguin & his best friend, a bottle of red wine

The penguin & his best friend, a bottle of red wine

While the world is renouncing alcohol today spare a thought for this little penguin whose best friend is a bottle of red wine. Artist Oleg Borodin initially created the penguin as an idea for a children’s book but realised the penguin looked a bit sad and lonely. He decided to give the character a best friend and the illustrator happened to like red wine.