Visiting Scotland

I’ve returned to Scotland a couple of times recently which is always inspiring. Both trips involved rivers – the first, the Border Esk near Langholm which was mainly a painting trip, the second to the River Dee in the Cairngorms to fish for Salmon but I did make a painting there too.

In the Borders we stayed at Broomholm Manor, a lovely house by the side of the river Esk – a perfect base for painting, fishing, walking or simply relaxing by the beautiful river. I made two pictures whilst there, both mixed media on boards I’d prepped in the studio before leaving home. The main medium used was acrylic because of its fast drying qualities but acrylic can be worked into and over with many other media meaning one can achieve an array of different and exciting marks to represent the visual environment. Painting outside or ‘Plein air’ can be challenging due to it’s physicality, access and of course, constantly changing light conditions but if you’re prepared to work quickly some great results can be achieved – often more interesting than more laboured work produced in the comfort of the studio.