The Wild Swimmers

I was walking my dog in Pitlochry in the autumn when I came across a group of wild swimmers getting ready to go in the water. The combination of the yellow leaves and the bright neon colours of their bags and floats against the dark waters of the loch was really exciting. I asked if I could take their photo and they said yes! The photo was so striking and for months I kept looking at it daunted by the figures.  I paint landscapes all the time but I don’t have much experience of including figures. I was particularly concerned that I couldn’t see their feet! I was worried that when I painted it, it would look like I’d chopped their legs off!  In the end a big canvas called out to me and once I began the painting it came together really easily. It was almost like a photographic negative appearing in front of my eyes. Or even as if someone else was painting it! It was an odd experience! The figures weren’t added in at the end, they evolved within the painting and I was so pleased when they just ‘worked’!

A1 canvas in a black frame.