Six painters from home and abroad joined the Art Holiday in June 2022.  The weather was ideal, warm and gentle but not too hot.

Much good work was done taking in a variety of locations to challenge and delight painters. We spent a day in green pastureland fringed with mature oak trees to start us using big, bold brushstrokes to express the rich, heavy summer foliage.

The second day found us on the beach at Mossyard near Gatehouse.  The weather was overcast but the sea and sky gave us a symphony of blues and distant fresh cut silage fields on the headland adding touches of gold.

The impressive old railway viaduct at Cairnsmore gave us plenty to think about on day three in terms of perspective. 

On Thursday we had a change of pace and visited the wonderful collections at Kirkcudbright Gallery – enjoying taking inspiration from the work great artists based in this part of Scotland in earlier times.  As a bonus we saw the Galloway Hoard of Viking silverware which is in Kirkcudbright at present.  A delicious lunch in the Selkirk Arms Hotel and Restaurant followed a walk around the picturesque streets of Kirkcudbright, now known as The Artists’ Town.

The final day was a spent in the lovely Cally Garden at Gatehouse of Fleet which is in full bloom and a riot of colour.  We were made most welcome by the gardener and enjoyed a relaxed day with a picnic in the splendid old walled garden.

Holiday guests were based in the newly refurbished Ornockenoch House as well as Rusko Stables.  The holiday was catered full board by a wonderful cook, Kirsty Aitken, from Cindy Webster Cooks in Edinburgh, who produced a fantastic menu of local food and other favourites including vegetarian and pescatarian options.