Spring Fling in Dumfries and Galloway

I woke up to rain. The first time for over a month. Well it is a public holiday on Monday and lots of people are going away so what else did we expect?  I had an Early start as I was visiting brother J in Scotland. I set off at 7.30, friend J took me to the station to catch my train. Brother J collected me from the train in Dumfries, and after a cup of tea in M&S we set off towards the Solway Firth, still in the rain. The Spring Fling was on, a great opportunity to visit artists in their studios. Our first stop was to an artist in Dumfries who works mostly outside. He enjoys painting trees, at a large scale. A great start. Then we set off towards the water. Our next stop was an artist who has a studio overlooking the Solway firth, with not a seascape in sight. My blip shows the view from her studio on a grey day. You can see the English coast in the distance. I wouldn’t be able to resist!  She had a studio full of colourful pictures, and had a very commercial approach, with jigsaws, Clock faces, tea towels amongst the cards and prints featuring her artwork.  This sounds like I don’t like what she does, which is not the case.  I loved the vibrancy, but I couldn’t paint like that. We stopped for lunch after that. In the afternoon we visited some more studios. The first was a fascinating chap, who uses natural items (different coloured stones, old bricks, shells etc) to grind up and make into paint. He also incorporates gels into his work. Fascinating. Then we went to a watercolour painter who had a wide range of lovely paintings. Our final studio was to a guy who makes mobiles in lightweight wood. Some very clever pieces. Then we went to J’s home in Kircudbright to relax before going out for dinner. A very enjoyable day.
My extra was taken in Dumfries.