Travel paintings of Scotland 2024

 We had a great wildlife tour with St. Hilda Sea Adventures.  We spent 10 days on the Speideren, a 75 ft Norwegian Rescue boat in the Outer Hebrides.  We stopped at 12 different Islands during the trip seeing beautiful scenery and wildlife. 

We boarded the ship in Oban, then traveled through Loch Melfort to our first stop Rum to walk at the Nature Reserve, then on to Canna where we anchored off shore.  Next stop was the Outer Hebrides.  We hiked to a remote beaches of Vatersay, stopped at the harbor of Castlebay on the Isle of Barra, then Lochboisdale on South Uist and Lochmaddy on North Uist where we hiked out to Loch nam Maddaah to see a Camara Obscura and had a day tour out to the small Island of Berneray.  Next we sailed to the Shiant Isles, three rocky  islands in the Northern Minch, that are nesting grounds for thousands marine birds (puffins, guillemots, razorbills, shags and great skuas).  Then we were off to East Tarbert on Isle of Harris and a stop at the local distillery.  On our way back we stopped at the Isle of Sky to hike up to Loch Coruisk, and Isle Eigg for a walk, and Lochdon on the Isle of Mull to tour Duart Castle.

We stayed a few extra days to tour the Isles of Mull and Iona.

We were very busy so I only had time to make quick sketches and take reference photos.  I finished the watercolors after we returned home. 

Oban harbor at night

Kinloch Castle on Rum in process

Vatersay bay, Outer Hebrides in process

Tropical watercolor journal entries

I had the opportunity to spend some time on a boat sailing around the British Virgin Islands.  It is a beautiful place, filled with brightly colored towns, white sand beaches, wonderful people, and tropical sunrises and sunsets.  I made a few watercolor sketches of places we visited.

Anegada beach

The Baths        

Trellis bay        

Ossabaw beaches, turtles and donkeys

 We spent a few days on Ossabaw Island learning about their Turtle program and the island's ecology.  This is the largest barrier island on the Georgia coast.  It has thousands of acres of salt marsh, fresh and salt marshes, and several miles of undeveloped beach.  The island was designated as a heritage preserve in 1978, by Governor George Busbee.  

There are several buildings on the north end of Ossabaw Island.  The Boarding house and Club house are used for visiting groups.  The historic tabby houses built in the early 1800's which have been carefully restored.  This is also where the small herd of Sicilian donkeys are often seen.

Five species of sea turtles are found in the waters off Georgia’s coast, but only one, the loggerhead sea turtle regularly nest on Georgia barrier islands.  Turtle researchers spend most of their time cruising the beach looking for turtle tracks made by adult females coming ashore to nest, and hatchlings scampering across the beach to the ocean.  They work from sundown to sunrise.  Early one morning we met one of the researchers on South end beach and were able to watch two recovered hatchlings head out to sea.  This beach has a extensive Ghost forrest of hauntingly beautiful trees.

There are extensive salt marshes along the western side of the island.  I used these photos as references for a watercolor in my field notebook.

Sapelo views

Sapelo Island is one of my favorite places to visit.  The large live oak trees, vast marshes and empty beaches are sublime.  It is worth the effort to get up early to catch sunrises on the beach.  

The road out to the lighthouse along the marsh has quite nice views.  I did the sketch for this plein air and finished painting it using the reference photo.

I also did a sketch of the Renold's Mansion.  It is a Georgia State Park, where you can stay!

Found on the beach

We had the opportunity to visit Little St Simon's Island for a Georgia Audubon 3 day Ornithology workshop.  We had a wonderful time helping the researchers band Painted Buntings (and other birds); count nesting spoonbills, storks, ibis, herons, egrets and anhinga in the rookeries, and checking on nesting sea birds at the beach.  

While on a trek up the beach to see Wilson Plover chicks and American Oystercatcher nests we notices a bouy that had washed ashore.  I took several photos from different angles as references.   I used a panoramic photo for the watercolor sketch in my travel journal.  

Watercolor Journaling kits

I have 2 watercolor journaling kits.  The small kit is designed to carry everywhere; meetings, museums, gardens, restaurants, and traveling by boat, trains or planes.  It contains the minimum items I need for painting:

• Paper Mate Sharpwriter mechanical pencil
• One black fine tip permanent ink pens
• Set of water brushes (3 round and 1 flat)
• Artists erasers (Factis Artists eraser or Prismacolor kneaded eraser)
• 2 oz dropper bottle
• Kleenex packet
• Small watercolor journal or block (a Moleskin watercolor notebook and watercolor block of postcards are in the photo below)
• Watercolor travel kit with professional paints (a Van Gough Watercolor Pocket Box is in the photo below)
• Waterproof clutch I found at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville several years ago.

My large watercolor kit I use for sketch crawls, weekend trips and hiking.  

• All the items listed above for the small kit
• 2 oz spray bottle
• Several Kleenex packets
• One Copic sepia fine tip permanent ink pen 
• 6" plastic ruler 
• 6" plastic triangle
• X-Acto retractable knife
• Clear wax crayon
• Guerrilla painter composition finder
• Gray scale and value finder
• Spiral bound Strathmore visual journals 

In addition to the what is needed to paint, this larger kit has space for a water bottle, snack, sunglasses and a hat.  If I will be out in the sun for a long time I also take a three legged folding chair and a portable shade umbrella.   

I purchase many supplies from local art stores, but I also shop on line with the following venders:

• Blick Art Materials
• Judsons Art Outfitters
• REI
• Jerrys Artarama
• Cheep Joe's Art Stuff

Fishing and sketching in Western Montana

Four of us went out to visit a friend who had recently moved to Montana.  We stayed in a single story log Forest Service Cabin down the road.  Like our previous cabin, this one had outdoor plumbing, but is entirely electricity (lights, stove and refrigerator).  The homestead was built in the 1890s by a former slave and her common-law husband. This cabin and the one we had previously stayed in were restored by Forest Service volunteers.   

The river was an easy walk across the field. We often saw Moose crossing the river near where we fished.  We hiked and fished along the river most days.  On this trip I caught and released my first Cutthroat Trout.  

 

We also did some sight seeing in Missolua and Philipsburg.  

 

Driving on the narrow twisty dirt roads that follow the rivers we encountered deer and big horn sheep.

 

Bahamas sailing and sunsets

 On nice thing about my small watercolor kit, it is super easy to travel with.  That means I have it with me all the time.  Ready to paint wherever I am.  For example, the second night I was able to paint the below sunset while we were anchored off Abaco Island.

We spent a wonderful week sailing around the Bahamas.  From Abaco Island we sailed to Green Turtle Cay, Fowl Cay National Park, Man-o-war Cay, and Elbow Cay.  We anchored off shore or picked up a mooring bouy in the harbor.  Each night we watched the sunset; and the following morning the sunrise.  

Watercolor Retreat day 5

The Final day we painted a girl on the beach.  This was the most challenging painting of the retreat.  There was moving water, reflections on the sand, and a human form.  

We started by painting the wet sand, leaving the area of the girl’s reflection unpainted.  

Then we painted the shadows on her clothes.  I used a grey green color for the shadows of the skirt.  It doesn’t look right now, but when red is painted on top the shadows will look right. 

Next I painted the ocean:

• Leaving bits of white in the foreground for foam, in the mid ground for waves, and in the background for sun reflections.
• Adding darker shadows under the waves at the shoreline

I then painted the girls skin: 

• Leaving highlights, adding mid tone shadows.
• Adding her reflections on the sand.

I painted the girls hair.  Then masked the dots on the skirt and painted it red. The last item was darkening some shadows and finishing the reflection on the wet sand.  

Watercolor Retreat day 4

The fourth day we worked on a painting of an egret on an oyster bar at sunset.  We used the techniques we had practiced earlier (masking areas of the painting and layering transparent pigments).  

This time we painted the bird and oysters first.  

When the painting was dry we masked the bird.  Making sure to cover all the small feathers.

Then vertical lines of yellow and pink were painted.  Followed by horizontal lines of purple.  The paper and paint were very wet, allowing the paint to flow across the paper and mix.  These lines create the reflections and ripples on the water, as well as the mud of the oyster bar.

When the painting was dry the masking was removed.  Additional shadows were added to the oysters and mud.  The brush used for the masking didn't have a fine tip so the feathers are a bit blunt, but I still was happy with how the painting turned out.

Watercolor Retreat day 3

The third day we worked on a new technique.  Using true transparent yellow, red and blue pigments to paint a marsh at sunset (Aureolin Yellow, Quinacridone Rose & Cobalt Blue).  Most paint is a combination of various pigments.  A true color contains a single pigment.  A transparent paint lets lets you see through one layer of paint to the one below.  

We first painted yellow where the marsh grass, trees and their reflections in the water are.  After the yellow paint was completely dry we painted red on the sky and water.  

After the red was completely dry we painted blue on parts of the sky, trees, marsh, and water.  To darken the trees and make the deep shadows in the marsh I added more blue.  It was amazing to see how well this technique worked.

Ironically, the spring high tide flooded the backyard and the streets around the house we stayed in.