Loch Maree Oilpainting

Reorganising the studio can be a dangerous affair. You start sorting things into sizes, styles, types of medium and before you know it “your wood panel needs to be a dyptique”.

Ninfa Fluida’s Scottish Highlands oil painting on wood panel

So here I am, before even having finished my dramatic mountain landscape on a wood panel, starting the one that is to be its better half. And this time I found myself attracted to an even moodier landscape.

I stumbled upon the fantastic shot of Loch Maree by the very talented Simon Atkinson. Please consider checking out Simon’s website – I’m sure you’ll find a ton of fantastic photographs, each more beautiful then the previous!

I found myself completely under the spell of his stunning photograph and all my thoughts came together like a jigsaw in my head – I knew in an instant that I had the perfect source of inspiration for the second wood panel.

Although the colour story is different from the first one, they share the same sense of drama and the darkness of the landscape. It’s the first night scene that I have painted so it was a thrilling challenge. This is where oil colours come into their full power, this is where I can knock myself out with a game of translucent layers of colour, with objects very slowly and subtly emerging from the black background – a technique so cherished by the Old Masters.

I hope you enjoyed this update on the work in progress and find these little insights into my creative process interesting. Bye for now and until next time in my studio!