I want to share with you the sheer joy I felt over the late May Bank holiday weekend here in Glasgow, and how it has inspired me to start a new series of paintings.

To set the scene, it was the holidays, the sun was shining, it was warm, and nature was at its peak of new energy. I had a day out after months of homeworking. I had my favourite music on my headphones and all day free to go out and enjoy being in nature. Nature was at its peak energy. All the leaves unfurled, yet still light green and tender with the youthful spring vigour. The bluebells still out under the trees, and rhododendrons in full bloom. Dappled light finding its way through the new leaves and a warm breeze. Wonderful!

I set out for an afternoon of sketching in Pollock Park, one of the wonderful local dear green places in Glasgow, Scotland that I like to visit. But, I found I couldn’t draw. I walked and looked and took photos, wrote in my sketchbook and enjoyed being in the woods. But everything was so beautiful that I couldn’t sit and look at just one thing.

When I got home i did some intuitive painting exercises and some journaling about my art. Here are some pictures of what I did.

My day out lead to me being a bit more relaxed about my art plans on a day to day basis - trusting that I’m taking all my experiences in and that they will come out in my work at the right time. Also, I have now started painting a new early summer series. Happy days!

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by a visual feast? Have you tried painting intuitively from memory? How does nature feed you creative soul?