I used to be an avid hiker back in the days when I still lived in Scotland, and I have always taken lots of photos on my walks. So naturally, I have a lot of lovely landscape photos in my possession. I am only slowly beginning to tap into that wealth of two-dimensional beauty, and it’s oh-so-great to do that! I can sit there for hours just looking at photos and painting in my imagination!
This is one of the first little paintings I have done with the help of my old photos. It’s a tiny colour study in preparation for going large. I realised just now that the values are not quite right yet. Maybe it’s the photo or maybe it’s really the painting itself, but it seems as if the distant hills could be quite a bit more distant. I need to check that at home. Fingers crossed for going large with this one! I haven’t painted larger formats in years.
The view is of the Forest of Birse near Aboyne. 
Dear Antje, Your paintings are wonderful. This is my favorite. I didn’t know you had this blog. I discovered it when I was looking up where you and David lived and where your job was. Some of the news stories are concerning and i just wanted the locations in my mind. What a treat to be able to see so many of your sketches and work and read about your thoughts and travels. You are very talented and I am so impressed with your progress in such a short time. I continue to remember you and David in prayer frequently. I have the postcard, Paddling Along, in my kitchen window. God bless you and keep you safe. Barbara
Dear Barbara, thank you so much for your kind comment. You don’t know how much of an encouragement it is to me! I’ll keep at it, definitely, and we’ll keep in touch and see each other in December. I hope you are well! Much love and God’s blessings to you and yours, Antje.