Sketching at Inverbervie bay



This place lovely place to be; perfect for walking, picnics, and, naturally, sketching. There were also a number of people fishing in the sea. Much as I enjoy fresh fish, however, fishing has never appealed to me. There's no way I'd have the patience for it. Even more so if I was hungry at the time! 

For the painting I did here, I chose a general view of the bay from a conveniently placed number of large rocks which made for a reasonably comfy seat and table for my paints and water pot. I used a few wee pebbles from the beach to prop up my watercolour box and I was all set. 



The thing that was most troublesome while painting was, as is pretty standard in Scotland, moving clouds changing the light every so often. This is always annoying but I've become quite used to it by now. I usually go with the most flattering light and try to work from memory when the light is obscured by the pesky clouds! 

Here are some pics showing various progress stages of my painting.




In the final moments of painting it got a bit chilly but once I'd finished the sun came out again so I went for a stroll along the pebble-y beach to warm up. It's so calming walking along a beach, looking out to sea and seeing the vast stretch of water all around.



I liked this fishing boat planter. Great way to re-use an old boat. 

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Rannoch Moor, Glencoe, and Kinlochleven are some of my favourite places. I posted earlier in the year about a trip to that area of Scotland as a break from my studies (only a 1 day trip but a break nonetheless). I realise I never actually followed with any more photos yet I did more watercolour sketches while there so here are some of them now. It's crazy to think that these were done when there was snow and summer was still to come yet now summer is past and it will be snow season again soon! Where does time even go?! 









The light changed so much while painting this, with every movement of the clouds, the shadows cast over the mountains darkened parts while other parts were illuminated by the rays of the sun. At one point it started pouring with heavy rain as well and this was all in a not very long length of time. The great thing about sun and rain, however, is the formation of rainbows as you can see below. 




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I also administrate an Instagram account where I share pretty pics from around the Scottish countryside: @ScottishScenes 


On Sunday I took a trip to St Cyrus beach for a walk and, naturally, ended up sketching too. This beach is one of the hidden delights of Scotland. It's entirely hidden from the main road and is gotten to by a single track road winding through farms. Once you arrive at the car park the beach is still hidden from view and is reached by a foot trail over protected natural environment and up over sand dunes where you are greeted with the stretch of sand and sea. 

When I arrived I was surprised that the place was so busy; the car park was full and there were cars parked at the side of the narrow country road too. This was unusual for a beach in this part of Scotland especially on a breezy, Sunday evening. While walking towards the beach there was a continual stream of people coming back from the coast. Some had large, cameras with professional-looking telephoto lenses. Puzzled, I asked one if there was a reason it was so busy and they replied that there was a humpback whale which had been swimming near the coast. Ooh, I thought, that would be great to see! 

Once I reached the beach, I noticed some people had brought camping chairs to it on while using binoculars to keep an eye on happenings in the sea. 
Unfortunately I did not have binoculars nor a decent camera so I didn't spot anything. 

Instead I sketched some other subjects in the area. A beach is not somewhere I would have chosen to sketch much in the past as I'd have considered the main thing to sketch to have been sand and water, the 'ebb and flow' of the tide. This is not something the would be easy to sketch in pen! Recently I have been making myself look deeper at what I see around me, however, and see shapes and textures to sketch I would have, in the past, thought not to be of much interest. Having this view of my surroundings means I can find things to sketch everywhere and never have an excuse to not pause, embrace what is around me, and try to capture a snapshot of it with my pen on paper. 

The first sketch I started was this one of the cliffs which are significantly set back from the coast due to changing tides over hundreds of years. It fascinates me how the landscape has changed so much with time. I thinks that's one reason I like coastlines so much and am appreciative of the fact I don't live in a landlocked country. 



Climbing over the sand dunes and approaching the beach. 

I may not have seen the humpback whale, but I did see the most seagulls I've ever seen at once. Not really something I wanted to see...! The noise they make in unison - wow - what a noise. 


Sketching odd 3D patterns in driftwood. This looked like multiple eyes to me! 



How I like reflections. So calming. 

The finished sketches. Cliff study, sand dune grasses, driftwood, pebbles, shells, and little seascape studies.

Maybe the next time I go to that beach I'll see a whale! There had also been sightings of dolphins and buzzards there that week so I'm keen to go back wildlife spotting. It's the best place to see marine life - where they should be, in the wild, roaming free. 

For more of my art, you can follow me on Instagram: @HCRart
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Website: www.hcart.com 

Much as I enjoy the city life that comes with the MSc I'm currently undertaking, I sure do miss the countryside. Over the past few weeks of university I was really craving a trip where I could be immersed in nature once again so after finishing my final assignments, I had a great day in Glen Clova at weekend. A lovely way to spend part of Easter Weekend. I had hoped to hike up to Loch Brandy while there but I hadn't envisaged the temperatures would be so low for April so didn't have my warm jacket up from Edinburgh. The 'feels like' temperature was below 0C and it felt like that at ground level, let alone at the summit! (Even after having lived in this country most of my life, I still fail to understand it's weather.) In absence of the hike, I had more time to paint which suited me fine. I hadn't painted for around two weeks and was feeling art withdrawal symptoms! 

Here are some of my photos and sketches from the trip. Since it was so cold, and raining at some points, all sketching and painting was done from the comfort of inside the car but I eagerly await warmer summer days when I can go again and paint outside. 

This was done by a lay by en route to Glen Clova, with the Glen seen in the distance. Just while parked here, the light on the hills changed so dramatically a number of times. The changing light in landscapes is always a challenge to capture and adds to the enjoyment of painting. Nothing ever stays the same, it's always changing. 

I tried to capture the hills while the sun was illuminating the heather growing on them. 
Met this wee fella while I was painting. It's a pheasant which is quite a popular bird in these areas. I don't think I've seen as many in one day as I did at the weekend, there was a lot. Maybe they were all out looking for Easter eggs early?! Here's a closer up picture but I only had my phone on me so you'll have to put up with a low-res digital zoom. 
They're quite stately birds. It's sad they're hunted for game. 


It's ironic that I took two paint sets with me thinking it'd mean I'd have a cerulean blue somewhere but my plan was to no avail as there was practically every shade but the one I wanted! This is why most of my paintings are lacking in sky...

Here's some evidence of the changeability of the weather... Heavy rain then sun, then thick fog, then sun again, then clouds, then rain... Aah Scotland, the country that just won't make up it's mind!




Taking a little wander...


I love the silhouettes made by sun shining through trees. 


Daffodils are such great symbols of Spring, new life, and Easter. Just look at how vibrantly yellow they are. 

This burger was definitely called for, I usually have it after working up an appetite from the hike up to Loch Brandy but this time I found I could polish it off just as well. It's all made with local produce and is delicious every time. 


After refueling, my stomach(!), I did one final painting before the sun disappeared behind the mountains.  




End of the day and the end of my sketchbook as no blank pages remained. 

Here's one final photo

Oh, and I should say that I still have four exams and a dissertation to go, so by no means am I free from academic stress yet! The trip to Glen Clova and Easter Sunday with family was a welcome break but revising and dissertation-ing will fill a lot of my time from now on so I'll post when I can but can't promise it'll be very regular.

If you'd like to see what I'm up to in the interim, you can follow me on Twitter: @HCRart, Instagram: @HCRart, and on Facebook, at, you've guessed it, @HCRart! 
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