During our March holiday in Scotland we had one beautiful and warm day (between snowstorms). After picking up some groceries at the Tesco in Blairgowrie, we stopped at a scenic pull out along the A93. The view was framed by a wide open pasture bordered by forest, sloping down into a valley at the base of the Hill of Drimmie.

It was too windy to set up next to the car, so I crossed the road and climbed down a stone embankment into the sheep pasture. The embankment gave me a perfect shelter from the wind. I had discovered during this trip that the tricky thing about painting outdoors in Scotland — apart from the wind and precipitation — is that the sky changes so rapidly, with the clouds marching across the landscape casting shadows and constantly altering the color on the ground. One really has to move fast with the brush, because in a matter of seconds the entire scene can change. The further complication on this day was that the sun had actually come out, and it was a bit shocking after days of more subdued lighting. I was learning to paint quickly, and to get the clouds and shadows in first.