I love doing commissions that capture a specific time and place for the individual I am painting for because I know they will look at it when it is finished and it will take them back into a special memory and place. I'm so glad to be able to do that for them. This particular travel photo was taken on a footpath on the way to St. Ninian's cave in Scotland.
Thankfully, the person I painted it for was very patient because it took a long time for me to know exactly how I was going to execute all this...GREEN. I wanted to achieve a balance because if I painted it all green it would lose character, but if I took out too much green it would lose it's Scottish-ness. I reached back to my childhood and remembered what it was like exploring various footpaths in the English countryside and how that was one of my earliest memories of adventure on untrodden paths. As a child the sudden appearance of a creek or little bridge was exciting and to this day, there is something that enchants me when I see water flowing over rocks.
"Path to St. Ninian's Cave"
11"x14" oil on canvas, private collection
