Blog post: 15 August 2024

Dumfries House a beautiful place to draw

Print Residency - 29th July - 8th August 2024, Dumfries House, Scotland.

In July 2024, I had a fabulous opportunity to join alumni from the Royal Drawing School on a print residency at Dumfries House. This was to include precious time in the print room, an opportunity to draw en plein air on a stunning estate of 2,000 acres and as an Artist in Residence in the 18th-century house.

Upon arrival at Dumfries House I'd asked if it was possible to join a garden tour to orientate myself. A highlight of my residency was being driven around the estate in a buggy by the Head of Gardens, Melissa Simpson. Melissa is generous, knowledgeable and very cool - and also, by the way, the King's Gardener...

Discussing the iconic landmarks in the grounds, Melissa pointed out that the dragons I saw were in fact Wyverns (two-legged dragon-like creatures) and one of the motifs of the 5th Earl of Dumfries who commissioned the Adams brothers to build Dumfries House.

We were curious to discover whether the much heralded bats that were apparently cohabiting my studio space would make an appearance. In the end it was Katy that had the pleasure of getting a studio visit from the winged whirling dervish. In my mind this was a fitting wee wyvern-like greeting.

On Sunday, following the final day of our intense printmaking sessions and now struggling with a migraine, I armed myself with a concertina sketchbook and set out on foot to capture some of the route Melissa had taken me on.

I find concertina sketchbooks a great way to quickly grasp the essence of a place with surprising or opportune elements cropping up on route. In the Arboretum an inscription read 'In every walk with nature one receives more than one seeks'. Indeed. Fallen trees, marks made on their trunks, Christ on a cross, avenues of trees, stones set to commemorate the visit of the King. Everything in fact, fit for a King and wonderful to draw. Using Conté crayon and pencil and stopping to capture snippets of the estate, I made my way down past the house, into woodland and eventually back round to the Chinese Bridge.

In the afternoon with a typical Scottish mizzle descending, I took to the canopy of the Chinese Bridge to avoid the rain. The bridge’s design was taken from an original drawing submitted by Scottish architect Robert Weir Schultz in 1899 and during the residency it had become a favourite place to draw.

Looking along the Lugar Water to the 18th-century Adam Bridge, it was the perfect spot to enjoy making a digital drawing: The healing of gentle rain. As digital drawing is an essential part of my practice, along with an artist's proof of my etching of 'Dumfries House through the trees', I have contributed this drawing to the Dumfries House collection.

Following a day digitally drawing in Dumfries House itself, I completed my concertina sketchbook by concentrating remaining drawings in the Walled Garden. Upon leaving the garden I left my HQ (little drawing stool) in the little pagoda and had to retrieve it first thing the next day. Phew! I'd be lost without it.

More about the residency 1 ‎| 2 ‎| 3 ‎ | 4 ‎|

The healing of gentle rain - digital drawing