Green is one of the hardest colors to paint. It’s easy to make it too saturated for the piece or to make it too washed out in an effort to do the opposite. When I decided to do the series inspired by Scottish landscapes I knew I would be working on pieces with a lot of green, so for each piece that featured green predominantly I made sure to be extra careful with choosing the right hue for that piece.

When I was working on my Scotland series I was using photos from the trip as references, but I was also using my memories from the trip to enhance the pieces into art that wasn’t just a one-to-one replica of a photo, but also an expressive landscape painting that could encourage an emotional response by the viewer and would remind me of my memories of the trip.

When I think about landscape paintings that are classic and stand the test of time I think of ones that have unique and impactful compositions, a masterful use of color, and ones that relay a mood and/or feeling to the viewer that is understood by people beyond that time and place.

Weather can change a painting’s mood significantly. Whether the skies are clear and blue or have puffy white clouds floating peacefully over a bright blue sky, or if the clouds have grey visible, indicating an incoming or outgoing storm, or full cloud coverage, all these aspects change the colors of the landscape that is being depicted, and naturally all convey a different mood for the entire painting.

Whether you’re in your home town (or city) or traveling to somewhere new or where you’ve been before and loved, a particular landscape can cause an emotional reaction to seeing it, and you may remember it forever. I think there are many reasons for this, linking back to memory and nostalgia for that particular time and place. I grew up in Vermont and have a lot of experience with exploring natural habitats, from forests, fields, ponds, lakes, mountains, hills, and etc. The places that were special to me in my childhood will always have a place in my heart, and I’ll remember them fondly forever because I accumulated many happy memories there.

In media, literature and art Scotland exudes a feeling of nostalgia, for times long past, wanderlust, the urge to travel and see all the sights for yourself, and solitude from the vast landscapes can give a sense that you’re just a small part in this world.

One part of a day trip we took through the Highlands near Inverness was a ride on the Jacobite Steam Train. About halfway through the trip we stopped at a station in Glenfinnan for a short break.

When I think of the day trips I made to the Isle of Sky to see the sights of the Scottish Highlands I think about classic British novels that spoke of the wonder of the moody highlands - the Heather lining the moors, the crashing waves in the cold Northern ocean, the towering cliffs look over vast land.

Towards the end of our 2nd day trip through the Highlands we stopped in a little town called Kyleakin Bay for a short break.

Growing up reading and watching novels and movies set in the UK I knew I would likely experience some overcast and moody days when I visited Scotland. I would say the weather during our trip was perfect. We got to see bright and sunny days as well as some cloudy days that accentuated the moodiness of the landscapes we saw.