Artist residency - Day 1

This is my first time at an artist residency and I chose Cove Park for its beautiful location, right amongst the lochs and mountains that form much of my thinking. It looked beautiful online, but it is even more beautiful in person. The main communal building comprises of spaces to think, move, talk, read and this is the joy of an artist residency, space to think, stare at the landscape and allow ideas to arise, something we often don't have time for in our busy lives.

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The site has a range of studio and accomodation options and I am lucky enough to be staying in one of the pods. These were originally designed by Andy McAvoy of Blast Architecture, and built in green oak by Carpenter Oak in 2000 for the BBC series Castaway. Despite today being very wet out currently, the space has beautiful big windows so I could set up a little painting desk and listen to the rain on the decking outside. Although rain means I can't fly my drone, it does still provide interesting and thought provoking views of the mist and clouds over the mountains and the wildness of the landscape so plenty to think about and paint.