Showing posts with label Glenshee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glenshee. Show all posts

I went in search of snow and found... snow. I learned, also, the value of 'wider context'. You'll find out what I mean if you keep reading till the end. 

The first sketch I did had no trace of snow but when I liked the composition and initially started adding colour when the hills were looking particularly vibrant courtesy of low sun. By the time I'd finished, the sun had been hidden by clouds. 

Further along the road to Glenshee, blue skies and sun appeared again and the landscape got increasingly undulating. 


More sketching on the way. 




Does anyone else enjoy sun like this as much as me?! Low Autumn/winter sun casts such a warm, coppery light yet it is usually bitterly cold at the same time. Tones of photos can be really deceiving. Warm hues does not always translate to warm temperatures. Trust me! I really appreciated taking my ski jacket with me. 





Look at the colours, the textures *heart eyes*

Landscape loving on the drive through Glenshee. 


If you're wondering what that wooden post is with a little red mark at the top which is invading the bottom of my photo is, it is there to indicate where the edge of the road is in the event of heavy snow. There are a number of them at both sides of the road throughout the road. I've seen snow all the way up to the bottom of a road sign in this area before so they are definitely worthwhile. 


Keeping warm in my hat and ski jacket...




Here's the snow I promised. Look, so much. So like almost 1m squared in total. Haha. 


But wait, here's a bigger patch all together. 


... Oh, wait. That's just a trick photo. There's actually very little snow. See what I meant earlier, the wider context is very important! 

The snow may have been disappointing but the soup at the Glenshee Ski centre was on point, as usual. Warming and tasty. Perfect for getting some energy before the long trip home. 


Hope you enjoyed this post, if you'd like to see some of my art that has come from more snowy days in Glenshee then check out my portfolio.

For more of my art and studio shots, follow my Instagram account here. 

Not on Instagram? What's wrong with you?! Nah, just kidding. 
It's no problem, I'm on Twitter and Facebook too so you can follow me there. Say hi, and I'll check out your accounts too. Social media is supposed to be social after all! 

Bye for now, 
HCRx



A couple of weekends ago, I had a wonderfully productive trip to Glenshee. I only visited Glenshee for the first time a couple of years ago despite the fact it is not too far from where I live. Yet, ever since my first visit I have been back a number of times and it never fails to impress me. It is so seasonally variant with the colours, textures, and scenes of the area transforming depending upon the time of year. Here are some summer scenes. 




And here is a snowy vista from earlier this year, around February, for contrast. 


This is my favourite view at Glenshee. You can see an acrylic painting I painted of this view last year if you look in the portfolio on my website (www.hcrart.com). 

I have many a photo taken there, some make up my inspiration board areas in my studio, but in this post I’ll mainly share with you the photos I took in June. I have intended doing watercolour sketching while there a few times but up until this last trip, I ended up not doing it; opting to stick with my fineliner pen sketches instead. 

It was great finally allowing myself to add colour while there. For me, as an artist, adding colour to paper is so much fun, I feel like a child discovering colour for the first time! The fact a watercolour pan can produce such wondrous colour with the addition of water gives me much pleasure and layering it on the paper with each brushstroke seeing a picture come to life is a great feeling! 


I decided to go up to Braemar first and then work my way back down the road painting scenes as I saw them. I usually work the other way around, but it is always good to switch things up and approach things from a fresh perspective. (Plus, Braemar had a shop for me to buy some lunch to eat in between paintings. Food is something often on my mind and it’s important to fuel my creativity with energy from tasty food!) The photo below is of the first scene I painted. It is a view up the valley in the direction of Braemar, not too far south of the village itself. All of my paintings were done using a Winsor & Newton travel watercolour set and Cass Art brushes though I forgot to take a large brush for the sky so that is why all the skies in my sketches are left blank - oops!  




During the painting of this second view (below) I was reminded of the challenges a glen can make when painting - the constantly changing shadows due to moving clouds and mountains of significant height! I tried to just apply the basic colours as quickly as possible to give some idea of the textures and hues of the landscape and I’m pretty satisfied with the outcome. 



While I was painting a wee fly decided he wanted to explore my paper landscape... But he quickly realised he didn't fit in and flew away!


This third painting was done a little further up the road and conveys another view facing down towards the Spittal of Glenshee. 


My final painting is of my aforementioned favourite view in Glenshee. As I arrived there and for the first little while of painting, the sun was in the perfect position to illluminate the vastness of the valley. It clouded over later but by that time I had added most of the colour.    
Here is the finished painting along with some of the work in progress photos to give you an idea of my artistic process. 






So, that was my little painting trip to Glenshee; I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of scenes from the journey. 

Also, I am busy this summer with getting paintings created, finished and sent to various exhibitions I’m participating in or hoping to participate in. If you’d like to keep up to date with details of these exhibitions, keep an eye on my social media pages:

Twitter: @HCRart
Facebook: /hcr.art
Instagram: @HCRart

Have a great day,
HCR 



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