Back from Scotland

...and back to work!

Oct 27, 2024

Now I am home, back in New Mexico, unpacking from our long journey from Scotland. Unpacking isn't just opening suitacases and sorting out receipts; it also involves some mental unpacking, which I think will take a good deal longer. As part of this process, I wanted to share a very brief summary of the whole trip, even though I've written weekly posts on it here.

This was no whirlwind trip—I enjoyed a full month in the land of Braveheart and Outlander. Interestingly, being there for a month and not just a week gave me a different perspective on the country. Short-term tourists usually end up seeing the Hollywood version of Scotland; but this long-term visitor got to see the real Scotland. It's not all about crumbly castle ruins and mist-shrouded highlands; it's also about an extensive bus system that serves even the smallest village, using your phone to pay at the local Co-op for a loaf of artisan bread, and a population still eager to separate from the UK.

As a painter, of course, my focus was more on the landscape. Yes, I'll admit I did sketch my share of crumbly castles, but also not-so-crumbly castles that are still inhabited by the families that have owned them for centuries, as well as rugged coastlines and mist-shrouded mountains. And, something rather new for me, I found myself intrigued by the shapes of old stone buildings and made a number of sketches of rooftops clad with red clay pantiles and decorated with chimney pots. (And I took photos—thousands of them.)

Getting to all these locations required transport. Although I'd been to Scotland twice before, I didn't want to spend a month covering a vast area and sketching without a guide—or a driver. First, I wasn't familiar with the landscapes I'd be visiting, and second, I'd already driven once in Scotland, and I knew I didn't want to get behind the wheel again. I was lucky to find three excellent plein air painters through a couple of Facebook groups (UK Plein Air Artists and Plein Air Scotland) who agreed to guide and drive, all in exchange for instruction and lodging, if they desired it. Also, for a longer trip, I hired a professional guide who, although he wasn't an artist, enjoyed art and also proved to be a wealth of historical and cultural information. (Again, thank you Chris Curtis of Anter Scottish Tours.)

As for painting, I wanted to keep things simple. In my first trip, in which I taught a workshop, I took both oil and pastel. As much as I enjoyed it, I found my kit, which I had stripped down to minimize luggage, cumbersome. For my second trip, I took only pan gouache, and it was perfect. On this last trip, I took the same:

A 15-color set of pan gouache from Caran d'Ache
A set of ten small brushes from Artify
One watercolor pencil (violet)
A Pentalic Aqua Journal (48 pages of 300gsm paper, 5"x8")
A collapsible pot for water
A few paper towels cut to small squares
Plus a 12"x16" backboard and spring clamps to fasten everything down while working in my lap

You'll note I mention that I worked in my lap, which is often my preference when working in gouache. On this trip, my first host lent me a small folding stool and a gardener's foam knee pad, which I could sit on if I didn't want to use the stool. I reconnected with him at the end of our month and returned them. (He also loaned me a charger for my electronics when the power adapter I'd brought failed in a dramatic shower of sparks—but that's another story.) I used the stool more than the knee pad and, when standing gave me the only view, propped up my board on a bridge railing.

Although there is so much to write about, I will end here with a list of locations that I found inspiring. (I will be going into much greater detail in my upcoming book, Through a Painter's Brush: Scotland and the Borders, which I hope to have finished by next summer.) The villages I stayed in, especially the seaside ones, offer a wealth of visual opportunities, but driving an hour or so outside them gave even more. I know that publicizing these locations in social media may bring more painters, so if you do go, tread lightly; in fact, I admonish you to find your own special spots, as they are legion in Scotland and the Borders.

Johnshaven, Aberdeenshire, area