Scottish Landscape Sketches, Birdwatching and Nature Treasures.

Pencil and watercolour sketches. The page on the left is A6 size and the paper the little watercolour sketches are on is about A7 size.

These little sketches and drawings are done for my own pleasure, more like journal entries than preparatory sketches for finished work.

The pencil sketches on the left are of Arrochar in Scotland. It’s a small village at the head of Loch Long and the mountains around it are called the Arrochar Alps.

The two watercolour sketches are of Montrose Basin in Angus, Scotland. It’s an enclosed tidal basin and the difference between high tide and low tide is five metres. It provides a home to 80,000 migratory birds. On a recent visit there I saw birds that I hadn’t seen before including a Great White Egret, a Little Egret, Tufted Duck, Wigeon and hundreds of Pink Footed Geese. They had just taken off to go to their feeding grounds in the neighbouring fields.

“Draw and paint what you love.” This was wonderful advice I read recently and that’s what prompted me to draw the stag beetle. All the drawings here were done using the pencil in the photo, an ordinary HB pencil.

Wherever I go I pick up natural treasures that catch my eye. The pebbles (used as paperweights) and the piece of driftwood came from the beach at Montrose. The patterns on the driftwood are beautiful and I’m sure they’ll make an appearance somewhere in some future piece.

Warm wishes,

Laura