Over the Easter break I took a break with my family where we ventured up to Scotland, spending time exploring the west coast, connecting with nature and, naturally, scouting out as many McMoos as we could.
We started the trip in Glencoe, immersing ourselves in the mountains and chasing waterfalls. The colours in Glencoe are beautiful - bold greens, earthy browns and dark mountain shadows. From here we caught the ferry to Isle of Mull for the day - it was on this beautiful island that we found our much sought after Highland cows.
When I see these cows now, I see the characters they become in my work - their personalities popping out through all their wild hair and extraordinary horns.
Harris was remote, wild and offered a sense of space that is difficult to find on the mainland. All the day to day distractions of life are stripped away in this isolated island, nurturing a feeling of calm and tranquillity for visitors and residents.
It was on the Isle of Harris that I hung up my walking boots and pulled out my sketchbooks. I filled them with doodles, sketches and studies inspiring my whirring brain with ideas for future pieces that I couldn't wait to get back to my studio for.
If only my studio was a little closer to this little slice of artist's heaven...
