For my main holiday this year I did a mini tour of the South/West of Scotland. Staying in three places, I stopped off at locations between each one as well and got a lot of sketches done! So many that I'm having to split this blog post into three.
I took two of my Royal Talens Art Creation sketchbooks, the 9x14cm and 13x 21cm and also my Daler Rowney Cachet watercolour sketchbook A5 landscape. I had my travel kit as mentioned in this blog post for en plein air walking out and about but I'd also taken my tubes of watercolour, a larger pad, some brushes and a palette in case I parked anywhere to sketch.
I'd visited Kirkcudbright back in January over my birthday trip but it was rainy and the place I'd wanted to visit was shut over winter. I decided to go back on the way to Stranaer and guess what? It was still rainy!
Fortunately Broughton House was open for the season now so after some lunch in a cafe, I headed straight there. It wasn't raining much so I took advantage and went straight into the gardens.
I remember visiting 30 years ago when we had a caravan at Kippford. I think it must have been spring because I remember taking photos of all of the twisted tree trunks and Japanese ornaments. Everything was more lush and full. The colours were singing in the summer drizzle.
It started raining more heavily and thankfully this little summer house was empty. I sat there and sketched the view out of door, just listening to the rain and the wind through the leaves. If it had been dry, I'd have stayed much longer to sketch much more but I did take plenty of reference photos. Like the one below which I sketched in the pub in Stranraer that evening...again drying out!
I woke early, hoping to be able to get a couple of sketches done from the harbour, but it was still grey and drizzly. The B&B had a huge window so I sketched what I could see...minus the cars in the car park! I also took my things down to breakfast and sketched the same crane out of the dining room window.
Window views became a theme...I photographed the view out of the bathroom window and did that later. Adding a more interesting window that I'd spotted on the street, to one of the buildings.
I stopped off between Stranraer and Dunoon at the Kelburn Country Estate. It was still raining, hillside paths and I got soaked. Forgot that my waterproof jacket is not terribly waterproof anymore! Tried to sketch the graffiti castle under the trees but still got sodden. So I splooshed some colour on, closed the book and hoped for the best later.
Once ensconced in the tea room, drying off with a pot of tea and some carrot cake, I used the base to sploosh some more watercolours on, using a photo as a reference. I added the pen at the end so it possibly looks slightly different from my other sketches. Because the whole sketchbook was so wet, I was worried that the rest of the previous sketches would be ruined but thankfully they were all fine!
I left there to catch the ferry which shuttles between Gourock and Harbour Quay. I was the second car on the left so I could see the side of the ferry. It was still raining so I did a little car sketch. Very simple, just a couple of colours but not often I have a subject like that.
Once I arrived back on land, and drove the couple of minutes along to the cottage in Kirn, it had stopped raining and the sun appeared! There was such a lovely view from the first floor living room picture window, I painted it. I think it's my new favourite thing to do...rooftops from windows!
