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Illustrator

Stirling Castle

When Joel and I visited Stirling Castle on our trip to Scotland, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it was going to be good, but I had no idea of the staggering amount of restoration that has gone into making this castle one of the best (if not the best) in the country.

Not only have the exteriors been restored and meticulously maintained, but the interiors have been completely recreated to represent the decor of the 1500s, complete with knowledgeable costumed staff. Partnering with a vast team of master artisans, everything from the painted walls and ceilings down to the textiles and tapestries have been re-created using techniques of the day. It is a truly impressive thing to see.  This collaboration must have been a massive undertaking, but the end result is spectacular. It’s amazing that they managed to pull it together.

The beauty of a restoration like this is that it really gives you a sense of the history of the place. When Joel and I visited Wales last year, we saw many a castle ruin; none of them were restored. While I’m a fan of ruins, it’s very difficult to image how it would have looked back in the day. Stirling Castle, being restored, gave you a real sense of history and of stepping back in time.

Highlights include the medallion ceiling, the replica tapestries and the “boat” ceiling in the great hall.  I will be inspired by my visit to Stirling Castle for years to come.

Sketches from Scotland

Joel and I recently returned from spending 3 weeks in Scotland. We saw many castles, mazes, big houses, puffins, weird and awesome landscapes, glens, highlands, rode horses, experienced volatile weather and rain. So. Much. Rain. Which is not at all conducive to outdoor sketching! Prior to our departure Joel and I had said we were going to sketch on this trip like it was our job; every other day. But due to rain, generally cold weather and midges (biting insects) we only managed half a dozen sketches! It was difficult to get a two-hour window without any of the aforementioned things to sit down and sketch.

I love how moody the landscape is in Scotland. I took many reference photos which you might see popping up in my work later on this year.

Here’s what we came up with:

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Doune Castle, where Monty Python & the Holy Grail and scenes from Outlander were filmed. A nice example of a restored 13th-century castle.

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Random house, just outside Pitlochrie.

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Urquhart Castle overlooking Loch Ness. I’d say skip this one if you’re not into ruins crawling with tourists. We were told not to sit on the grass here…which did not please me.

 

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Lovely Tudor building in Peebles, in the Borders.

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The kitchen at Glaschoille House, in the Knoydart Peninsula. We were waiting to go back to the mainland after two days on horseback and had an hour to kill. Midges prevented me from sketching outdoors so here is the one and only indoor plein air sketch!

 

 

 

Provence

Here is a little study of a door in Provence, France. The goal here was to create texture without becoming too painterly, therefore using black and sepia inks in addition to watercolour to try and achieve that.

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Foxhounds

 

 

Here are a bunch of new pieces. I went through a couple weeks lately where I needed to flex the compositional muscles. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy drawing for Papillon Press cards but it’s also nice to get some actual backgrounds in some illustrations.

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