Paintings completed: 13 I can’t remember the last time I painted this much.
I recall, even on my most productive years, back when I had fewer commitments (I wasn’t a homeowner, didn’t have a toddler), I’d spend most of my weekends and evenings painting, sketching, reading. June felt like those lost years all over again, yet I still have been able to enjoy quality time with family and (a little) time to relax. I’ve spent so many years trying to find a balance, that it’s happened naturally is quite surprising.
Summer is here and it’s so far not unbearably hot, so I’m making the most of nap times and lazy afternoons. I have far more ideas and projects that I can ever hope to put down on paper, but here are some highlights that made it to the easel, from the last month. Little Trees My first painting in June was the smallest. A tiny 5 x 7 cm canvas is a challenge, but most of all painting this small is so much fun! I loved painting a withered, naked tree plein-air in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, but I felt it deserved a place in the “Highlands and Heather” collection (more on this in future blogs).
Wild Blooms
Next up, inspired by the warming weather and enjoying the flowers that are surprisingly still in bloom across my island home (normally, the flowers are withered and the grass scorched orange by the soaring mid-June temperatures), I explored different compositions in ink in the sketchbook. I wanted to capture the fleeting winds, the colours, with a beautiful framed composition of wildflowers.
Taking A Break
This year I’ve been mindful to get out and enjoy the summer sunshine as much as possible, and have been trying to reconnect with Malta’s small, beautiful pockets of nature like Buskett, San Anton Gardens and many of Valletta’s public gardens both painting outdoors and enjoying quality family time.
Loch Awe
You can’t paint Scotland without painting a castle. Perhaps I haven’t yet shaken off my love of autumn colours quite yet.
Once Upon A Thistle
A bigger one for the collection, I wanted to paint a piece that felt a little more mythical/fantastical, and wanted to combine beautiful skies, craggy mountains and of course, my current passion for wildflowers. The result was unexpectedly endearing, featuring Scotland’s national flower, the rugged thistle. You can see the progress of this painting here.
Waterfalls
Waterfalls cascading gently through the Royal Botanic Gardens and slowly marching down the rock face at Loch Ness. Little rivulets of waterfalls were everywhere, so they deserved not one painting, but two!
Heart of the Highlands
As easy as painting has felt recently, it doesn’t always go to plan. I started this one with high hopes, but near the end, something just wasn’t working. So I painted over it and tried again. Attempt two was a success!
May and Bass
When you think of spectacular wildlife, you don’t always think of the UK. But Scotland’s diverse coastline is crowded with some beautiful seabird species. The Isle of May is home to the enigmatic puffin, while Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth is literally covered with gannets (and evidence of them is….everywhere).
and last but not least:
Paintings for the home
Travel memories make the best paintings, and these paintings make the best art for the home. So I’m painting three for my own home, combining everything I’ve fallen in love with in Scotland, as well as everything I’ve learned from painting in a frenzy over the last two months. One out of three is now complete, and the results are very promising!
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