Paintbox Summer Exhibition July 2016

I’m excited to share with you that two of my pastel drawings will be featured in the upcoming Paintbox Summer Exhibition – my first gallery exhibition in Scotland!

After my first ever exhibition last year, which took place in my hometown in The Netherlands, I am thrilled I am now featured in one more local to me. I had set the intention for this after last year’s exhibition and I am excited it is now happening. It goes to show that you never know how these things will happen! My art tutor is organising this one and I am thankful she invited me to create two new pieces for it.

It was based on a project that I worked on earlier this year which saw me go to the Scottish Highlands to do some research and sketching.

You can read up on that art adventure in one of my blog posts.

For that particular project I created two oil paintings of the mountain ranges seen from Knockan Crag a few miles north of Ullapool.

For this upcoming exhibition my art tutor asked for one or two A5 pieces that would explore something from that same project – something from my sketchbook.

Rocks and Stones - Sketches in Sketchbook

Sketchbook sketches of rocks and pebbles in Scottish Highlands

I was drawn by the geology of the area that I visited. Parts of the North West Highlands are a designated Geo-park, endorsed by UNESCO.

Knockan Crag houses an outdoor visitor centre that explains more about the geology and rock and how old the area is. It was fascinating!

I was also drawn by Ardmair Bay. That was initially my plan – to create art work inspired by Ardmair. It had inspired me when I first encountered it just over three years ago.

But I had been touched again by the vastness of the view of the mountains that I decided to create that in a couple of paintings first.

However, I still visited the pebbled beach at Ardmair, and I found it was a great spot for some bird watching (I wasn’t the only one on the lookout for birds!). I saw gulls, a flock of herons and curlews, geese, ducks, and cormorants. It was a hive of activity.

Back to the rocks and geology though: the more I studied them, the more I saw the details and the colours – the more I appreciated the richness and the awesomeness of them.

So it was no surprise to me that I would want to explore the pebbles at Ardmair and rock at Knockan Crag.

Rock on Knockan Crag - making progress

Using pastels to draw a rock on Knockan Crag

Using pastels I can layer the drawings up using them and fixing them with spray (cheap hairspray works!), then working on top of each layer. That way you don’t get too much smudging and you can really work on the details and colours in the picture.

I am happy with my two pieces and it was fun dropping them off with my art tutor and having a wee chat with her about how we were excited about the upcoming exhibition. She told me approximately 40 of her students will be participating and contributing to the exhibition, so it’s looking like it will be really good.

So without further ado, I would love to invite you along to see it!

If you’re close by, please come along to the private viewing/opening on Friday 1st July from 7pm till 9pm.

The exhibition runs from 1st July until 30th July 2016. The gallery is open Monday to Saturday, 10am till 4pm.

Paintbox Summer Exhibition Riccio Gallery Invitation

Here are the details again:

Paintbox Exhibition Private Viewing
Friday 1st July 2016
7pm-9pm
The Riccio Gallery
17 South Street
Dalkeith
EH22 1AH

Paintbox Summer Exhibition 1st July – 30th July 2016

If you cannot make it (because you live too far away!), then please keep an eye out for my upcoming newsletters, blog posts and social media where I will share photos of the private viewing and exhibition.

See you there!

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