Iona Molleson

Painted over two consecutive visits en plein air in a wheatfield overlooking St Abbs' Church on the Southeastern Coast of Scotland, September 2016. I tried to capture the golden colour of the wheat running down the dynamic patterns of the furrows into the distant blue of the sea and then added the pale light in the cloud which had first inspired me above the church.

Painted en plein air in the Oat Field, close to Spott village near Dunbar in East Lothian, August 2016. The colour of the oat grass was changing by the hour as it dried out in the warm Harvest sunshine. I was captivated by the late afternoon light on the low lying line of clouds above the blue horizon and the gentle breeze through the expansive space in front of me, full of the golden colour of the oats in the sunlight.

I loved the angles falling away below me of the pan tiled roof-tops of the houses at St Abbs Harbour, the old harbour walls beyond them with the original Lifeboat Station standing above them flying the flag, as I first sketched this view and then painted it in situ over three seperate visits. There were also racing pigeons swooping past me as I perched up on the bank overlooking the harbour and I can still see their silhouettes racing past and hear their flight path through the air. Something to capture for another painting day. The bunting had appeared on my second visit which was not long after the celebration for the launch of the new Thomas Tunnock’s Lifeboat for St Abbs. A very welcome addition!

Painted plein air as the tide was coming in on Belhaven Bay

It was my birthday and I loved painting this view I know so well on the beach below the croft in Harris looking out over to Taransay, The day was warm, despite the cloudy sky, and the tide was out, best of all my whole family were there and Jim had put up a tarp to shelter me from the warm but steady breeze. I painted alla prima and wanted to capture the creamy white of the sand against the energy of the sea green rollers coming in off the Atlantic with the Northern Light in the sky creating pale golden breaks in the distant clouds over Taransay. It was the best of days!

This was painted at Easter 2018 during a few hot days in Harris, I had bare feet eventually whilst I painted as the sand was hot, creating a lovely warmth as I sat for several hours painting the Cerulean blues of the seas and the golden heat of the sand. The waves were dancing onto the shore with an off shore breeze catching their spray and I wanted to capture their movement against the flat paper blue sky in which not a cloud to be seen.

Cromwell Harbour has become a favourite painting subject of mine. I’m drawn to its old cobbled harbour walls and the medley of fishing nets piled high with fishing boats tucked in snug close to the deep harbour walls surrounded by the harbour houses. It’s a working harbour so no two painting days are the same which can present challenges for painting in situ and having first sketched this in conte onto the canvas to capture the composition I was inspired by, I returned to Cromwell Harbour several times to then observe and paint the colours and vibrancy of the jumbled elements of harbour houses, nets and boats.

Completed in June 2018, I had begun this painting on a beautiful evening in May which had followed weeks of the sea haar that can hang around the River Forth and East Coast, and did so for a particularly long spell this Spring; it even affected the mackerel who arrived late according to a fisherman in Dunbar. I was entranced by the colours, having been absent for what felt like so long and the evening light on the harbour wall and sheds. As I sketched in the harbour and painted in the fast filling harbour pool a skiff appeared, gliding in effortlessly on the evening tide, and I quickly sketched in its path as the oars moved in tandem and the skiff’s circlular path created a swirl in the foreground of my composition. I revisited the scene a few times more and again was fortunate to catch the skiff arriving. I did decide to move its position down slightly to create more of a focal point and the sharpness of contrasting varnished oars against the blues of the incoming tide.

Painted this summer in July 2018 on a visit to the South Uist Games at Askernish Machair. I took myself off to the dunes above the beautiful shoreline stretching for miles into the distance up the West coast of South Uist. The day was balmy, a perfect painting day and I spent four happy hours painting in the Hebridean colours and light on the shore. A couple appeared in the distance and it seemed only right to include them which finished off my composition of this unforgettable place.

Evening Light looking West over the North Berwick shoreline and the Paps of Fife in the distance. I used a palette knife for most of this plein air study of the gold in the sky and the low tide beyond the rocky shore.

I have always wanted to draw a cabbage field. I love the pattern of their chunky leaves and heads with numerous shades of green all lined up. I finally found a field near Amisfield Walled Garden last September in 2023. One evening I set up my pochade box and easel by the roadside, it is a quiet road off the old A1 and had a wonderful time capturing all their hues in the evening sunshine. The red of the old barn in the distance, under dappled sunlight through the trees, complimented the sea of green of cabbage leaves in the foreground perfectly.

So enjoyed painting this beautiful corner of one of the flower beds at Amisfield Walled Garden. I loved the amount of butterflies there and the red watering can popping against the green hues of the leaves. The warmth of the sunshine on the stone pillars created a lovely backdrop to the textures of plants and flowers.

Oil on Linen

31 x 44 x 3.5cm Framed

Price £365

Delighted to spend several ours painting plein air in one of their beautiful borders at East Lothian Flower Farm. This one of the herbaceaous flowering plant Eutrochium is a favourite of mine and I love the layers of planting and peacefulness in the garden there.

Oil on Linen Board

46.5 x 46.5 cm Framed

Price £395

Always enjoy painting down by the harbour especially when all the fishing boats are tied up together to ride out the next storm. I liked how the Dunbar Parish Church bell tower is framed in the distance by the orange folded crane of the dark blue fishing boat.

Oil on Board

32 x 37 x 2cm Framed

£295