I was fortunate to travel to Scotland this past summer. At first, I wasn’t too excited as I generally prefer warm spots for travel, but to my surprise I absolutely loved Scotland—the friendliness of the people, romantic castles, and the extraordinary beauty of the country. An area that was particularly mesmerizing was the Highlands to the west. We stayed in Ballachulish, at the beautiful Isles of Glencoe Hotel. The hotel is right on the shores of Loch Leven and has a beautiful view of the lake and mountains outside the rooms that is a sight to behold.
I couldn’t wait to get outside within moments of arriving to take in all the natural beauty this place has to offer. It is remote and has an ethereal quality to it. Natch, I took lots of pics. I had many to choose from, but I settled on one particular scene to paint—and paint big.
Below is the painting titled “Scottish Dream”. It is oil on canvas, 36” x 36”. This is the largest painting I’ve painted, but I doubt it will be my last. There is a certain freedom in painting big that can’t be matched when painting smaller. Because I was so taken with Scotland and the Highlands area in particular, I anticipate painting more of this beautiful area. I learned how to paint this large under the tutelage of my art teacher, Brian. He has taught me so much and yet there is so much more to learn!
Interestingly, I also painted my smallest painting (3” x 3”), a triptych, of the beautiful County Galway in Ireland. That was fun to paint and challenging in its smallness. I’ve included both paintings below for your viewing pleasure.
Wishing you the bonniest of holidays!
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