Painting and Sketching in Scotland

From 25th August -1st September 2024 my husband, our teenage son and I stayed in a little cottage on the edge of the village of Brunton in Fife on the eastern side of Scotland. It was primarily a family holiday but the glories of the Scottish landscape were a feast for this passing artist to relish in every spare moment.

In the zone at Black Linn Falls

It had been about 40 years since my last, and first, trip to Scotland. That February trip had been an ill-advised adventure disguised as a sponsored ‘jail break’, a charity fund raiser to get as far away from Cheltenham, where we were at college, in 24 hours and with just a pound to spend. Needless to say, the student organising the pounds didn’t turn up, so armed with just a bag of sandwiches and a positive attitude, my best friend and I hitch-hiked to Inverness, where the local constabulary let us stay in their games room overnight, safe from the incoming snowstorm. Then we hitch-hiked home the next day, as soon as the roads had been cleared. It’s one of the daftest things I’ve ever done- but one of my most treasured memories of very happy days too.

Discovering what a Scottish winter was like in the mid 1980's

At least I'd had the foresight to wear my knitted leg warmers! My partner in crime was Frances Ball and we are still laughing about this trip some decades later.

Needless to say this family holiday was better organised and lot more comfortable but my response to the Scottish landscape was the same – absolute, socks-blown-off awe.

We drove from our Midlands home to Fife through a deluge that lifted just in time to reveal the rolling landscape of Dumfries and Galloway. Our cottage was situated on a hill overlooking the surrounding farmland and acres of ripening corn. The large glass patio doors meant we could see the landscape changing from hour to hour, from morning mist to evening sun. I painted or drew it almost every day and was delighted that we were there to see the corn being harvested. I grew up on a farm and as a teenager I would help with the grain harvest every summer, so the sights and sounds of this Scottish harvest were very familiar to me.

A double-page drawing of our view, using a 6B graphite stump in my A4 stetchbook

Our first whole day there we walked up the nearest peak, Norman’s Law. It was a lovely day and the view from the top of the hill went on for miles all around. I had taken my sketching gear with me but annoyingly left my sketchbook behind. Having lugged myself and my bag up there I was keen to do something, so in desperation I sketched on the only thing I could find, the back of one of my business cards, with a fine-liner pen, travel watercolour set and a brush pen. This turned out surprisingly well and I decided to do more of these mini-sketches as we went about our holiday. They were a great way to quickly capture a scene and all the kit fitted into my pocket. Necessity is the mother of invention as they say

An idea is born…

My first mini-sketch from the top of Norman’s Law looking towards Dundee

Later that day I took my oils and plein-air kit down to the local village of Brunton and painted the old phone kiosk and post box there. I liked how they seemed to be leaning in to each other like a pair of old friends. I met a couple of locals too, one was the old gentleman whose verge I had set up on, and the other was a jolly cocker spaniel who raced over for a fuss then proceeded to lean against my leg as I painted.

By the babbling burn in Brunton, my first plein-air oil painting of the holiday. 

Click on the image to see the finished painting

We went to Dundee on the Tuesday, to visit the V&A museum. It’s a striking building that cranes out over the bank of the Firth of Tay. I did a mini-sketch of the museum and also Captain Scott’s ship Discovery nearby, where I discovered the limitations of my format when trying to get the masts and rigging into this tiny space! It was fun trying though.

On the Wednesday we went to see the Black Linn Falls near Dunkeld. I found a great view of the falls that included the stone bridge over the ravine, with the roiling water gushing beneath and creating a fine mist that darkened the surrounding rocks. While I tackled all that with my oil paints, my husband and son went for a long walk following the river higher up in its journey. Then we went for a drive up to Pitlochry and around the Tummel Loch. We had a quick stop for me to do a mini-sketch of the mountains across the loch and I had a nice chat with the farmer who came over on his quad bike with his lovely (but apparently clueless about sheep herding) sheep dog riding pillion. Leaving there we drove further up into the highlands where the purple heather glistened with the misty dew of low clouds and it seemed like another world.

In contrast, the following day in Edinburgh felt European and vibrant in the late summer sun. I loved the Scottish National Gallery, especially the paintings of the Scottish Colourists, a group we studied in my art classes a few years ago. After a long walk up and down the Royal Mile and a look around the Scottish Parliament, I did a mini-sketch from the gallery terrace of the enormous memorial to Sir Walter Scott.

We got back to the house as the sun was setting so I dashed out into the garden to paint the cornfields as they glowed golden in the evening light. I was pleased to capture the combine-harvester just starting work in the far cornfield (and it carried on working until well after dark). I had to paint very fast, as not only was the light fading but my husband had pizzas in the oven for our dinner! I improved this painting in a second session the next morning and love that I captured that moment of transformation in the landscape.

Friday brought another day of contrasts. I was awake early and had a happy couple of hours before breakfast, painting the sunrise and morning haze over the distant hills. Working early like this is the best way to scratch my painting itch before the day’s activities begin, plus the light and quietness of daybreak is glorious.

Morning Mist on the Cornfields

After breakfast we headed out to catch a boat trip from the pretty seaside town of Anstruthers. On the way we stopped at the Bowhouse art centre at St Monans to see an exhibition of large abstract paintings by Sheila Girling. The exhibition was beautifully presented in a former farm shed that doubles as an occasional farmer’s market – a great lesson in how to repurpose a redundant building.

 At Anstruthers we took a speedboat trip out to the Isle of May to see the seabirds and seals. Our captain was very knowledgeable and it was great to view the rocky island from the boat. I even managed to do a mini-sketch of the lighthouse just before we were whizzed off to the next point of interest. I added colour to this one later that evening. I had also drawn two moored boats in my sketchbook and a mini-sketch of a rusting hull at Anstruthers harbour while we waited for our trip. We rounded off the day with fish and chips sitting by the harbour at Crail as the sun set, just perfect.

I added colour to my sketches from Anstruthers and the Isle of May back at the house. I’ll discuss all the materials I used in another blog.

On Saturday we visited Kirkcaldy for coffee with friends who live there. I squeezed in a very quick mini-sketch of the headland there as we waited to meet them. Even a quick visual note like this gives me a chance to take in the scene and commit it to memory much more effectively than just taking a photo.

A two minute mini-sketch at Kirkcaldy

I loved how the trees, clinging onto the headland at Kirkcaldy, created dark shapes against the bright blue sky. I added more colour to this later.

Sadly our son didn’t feel too well so instead of our planned visit to St Andrews we returned to our cottage so that he could rest. In our absence the straw in the cornfield just by the garden had been collected up into big round bales which now stood in the afternoon sunshine as if waiting to be painted. This was to be my favourite painting of the whole trip, a gift of perfect timing and glorious weather, and a wonderful way to end the holiday. Thankfully our boy was fine after a rest and my husband went to explore St Andrews anyway so we were all happy.

Sunlight on Strawbales

I realised a long held ambition to draw the Forth Bridge on our way home. Although we had actually crossed it for our day out in Edinburgh, all we could see from the train was a glimpse of it in the distance and then its huge red pillars whizzing by our windows! From the roadside in South Queensferry I was able to rest my A4 sketchbook on the wall and draw a double page study of this incredible structure. Then we travelled down the beautiful A68 through Northumberland and stopped to visit the Angel of the North at Gateshead. This is such a familiar sculpture, standing with presence high up on the site of a former coal mine, but it was quite humbling to stand in its shadow as it loomed overhead. We returned home after dark, tired but happy.

The Forth Bridge from South Queensferry in 6b graphite pencil

Every painting, drawing and mini-sketch I created on this trip has helped to imprint all these special moments and places on my memory. As my husband said, when we got our first glimpses of the Scottish landscape on our way there ‘It’s hard to believe all this is just up the road from us isn’t it?’ I think we’ll be back; the western isles are beckoning.