BirdGuides Photos

Puffins are the essence of cute. This photograph of a puffin with its bill laden with sand eels, flying straight into camera, is one of the best shots of this colourful character I've ever seen. It was taken by Kevin Du Rose on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, and is one of the runners-up in the BirdGuides Photo of the Year competition 2009. Click the title link to see the winning photo by Richard Bedford and more beautiful runners-up.

Ofili Exhibition

If you're into elephant dung and garish, Chris Ofili is the artist for you. A major retrospective of his work opened yesterday at Tate Britain and continues until 16 May. Over 45 of his paintings, together with pencil drawings and watercolours, from the mid 1990s to the present day, will be on show. Admission costs £10, concessions £8.50. Not likely, sunshine! I wouldn't brave the Underground if you were to offer me £10 to visit this load of Ofili. CLICK to view a BBC slide show of some of the works on display.

Art Forgeries

The Victoria And Albert Museum in London opened an unusual exhibition today: The Metropolitan Police Service's Investigation of Fakes and Forgeries. One of the exhibits is The Amarna Princess by master forger Shaun Greenhalgh, now serving a jail sentence for his crimes. He created The Amarna Princess in his garden shed in Bolton in 2003 and sold it to a gullible curator for £440,000. The police collared him in 2006. I'm surprised he didn't try selling his garden shed to Tate Modern. The exhibition showcases some of the methods used by police in detecting fakes and apprehending the villains. Find it in Rooms 17a and 18a until 7 February 2010, admission free.

Shock Disqualification!

The winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award 2009, Jose Luis Rodriguez, has been disqualified after judges decided he had used a trained wolf for the above photo. They identified this wolf as Ossian, a tame wolf living at a zoological park near Madrid. Rodriguez denies the allegation, but the judges not only stripped him of his award, but also banned him for life from entering the competition again. So, for the first time in its 46-year history, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year has no overall winner. There are still many excellent photos at the exhibition in the Natural History Museum, London (CLICK).

Twilight Graphic Novel

A comic book version of Stephenie Meyer's hit vampire fantasy Twilight will be published in the USA on 16 March: Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1. The illustrations are by Korean artist Young Kim (cover shown). This explains the touch of Manga in the heroine's face. The text is by Stephenie Meyer, who was consulted throughout the creative process. Click the title link to visit her website and read more about this graphic novel, which will be published by Hachette Book Group. Stiff cover, stiff price. Order it from your library.

Van Gogh Letters

The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters opens at the Royal Academy of Arts on Saturday 23 January and continues until 18 April. This major exhibition sets out to dispel the popular notion that Van Gogh was merely a loony with earache. On display for the first time are many of his personal letters, which reveal him to be an intelligent and cultivated man. Even if you think his daubs are wildly overrated, this display of paintings and letters promises the visitor a fascinating insight. Cost of admission? Don't ask. Click the title link.

Elvis Presley Portraits

While it's a portrait of princes at the National Portrait Gallery in London, it's The King at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. One Life: Echoes of Elvis - an exhibition to celebrate what would have been Elvis Presley's 75th birthday - opened at Washington's NPG recently and continues until 22 August (title link). This 1993 portrait is by Mark Stutman.

Princes On Display

Those of you who are into royalty will be interested to know that the first portrait of Princes William and Harry together has gone on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London. It was painted by Nicky Philipps, who made a pig's ear of William, but her profile of Harry isn't so bad. You'll find it in the National Portrait Gallery's Contemporary Galleries (Room 40).