scott lyall
@scottlyall.bsky.social
Hyperlocal aesthete, spiritual atheist, professional dilettante
My one true god descends
November 25, 2025 at 5:43 PM
My one true god descends
The best piece was the hilarious video installation Soup (A Concept Consomme) by the Scottish artist Bruce McLean.
November 1, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The best piece was the hilarious video installation Soup (A Concept Consomme) by the Scottish artist Bruce McLean.
The question remains: will I ever actually like a Picasso?
November 1, 2025 at 4:21 PM
The question remains: will I ever actually like a Picasso?
Some new works at the Moderns. This is Encuentro (Encounter) by Remedios Varo.
November 1, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Some new works at the Moderns. This is Encuentro (Encounter) by Remedios Varo.
Autumn Edinburgh sky
October 21, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Autumn Edinburgh sky
A new revised and annotated edition of Sydney Goodsir Smith's Collected Poems was published this year by Calder. Looking forward to working my way through it.
October 19, 2025 at 8:48 PM
A new revised and annotated edition of Sydney Goodsir Smith's Collected Poems was published this year by Calder. Looking forward to working my way through it.
To Fife and beyond
October 18, 2025 at 4:01 PM
To Fife and beyond
Swans on the Tay. And heard pink-footed geese arriving
October 18, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Swans on the Tay. And heard pink-footed geese arriving
Ocean Terminal from Granton Harbour
October 12, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Ocean Terminal from Granton Harbour
Indian summer in Edinburgh
October 12, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Indian summer in Edinburgh
Looking at John Bellany's work in the NLS today. This is 'Pourquoi? II', which Bellany painted after visiting the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1967 - a life-changing moment for the artist. Resurrection?
October 10, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Looking at John Bellany's work in the NLS today. This is 'Pourquoi? II', which Bellany painted after visiting the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1967 - a life-changing moment for the artist. Resurrection?
One of the poem's great passages.
October 7, 2025 at 7:14 PM
One of the poem's great passages.
Reading MacDiarmid's A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle again. It was published 100 years ago next year. Kenneth Buthlay's annotated edition from 1987, published by @asls.org.uk, remains the best guide. The poem itself is as thrilling, ambitious and flawed as ever it was.
October 5, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reading MacDiarmid's A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle again. It was published 100 years ago next year. Kenneth Buthlay's annotated edition from 1987, published by @asls.org.uk, remains the best guide. The poem itself is as thrilling, ambitious and flawed as ever it was.
Here's one with sun and shield.
September 30, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Here's one with sun and shield.
Or could be the Fianna badge with sun illustration?
September 30, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Or could be the Fianna badge with sun illustration?
I wonder if the dish is simply a shield?
September 30, 2025 at 6:31 PM
I wonder if the dish is simply a shield?
Excellent John Bellany exhibition at the City Art Centre - runs until 28 September
September 13, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Excellent John Bellany exhibition at the City Art Centre - runs until 28 September
Wind Dial, by Adrienne McStay (2006), with Broughty Ferry castle in the background
September 7, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Wind Dial, by Adrienne McStay (2006), with Broughty Ferry castle in the background
Cairns's talk, on Muriel Spark and Ali Smith, was as brilliant as we've come to expect from him over the many years since I first heard him talk when I was an undergraduate at Edinburgh University.
September 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Cairns's talk, on Muriel Spark and Ali Smith, was as brilliant as we've come to expect from him over the many years since I first heard him talk when I was an undergraduate at Edinburgh University.
North Berwick feather sculpture, by Gill White
August 30, 2025 at 7:24 PM
North Berwick feather sculpture, by Gill White
