Birch in the Scottish Highlands

Day two of our Scottish drawing expedition took us to the southern shore of Loch Rannoch. We were in search of a treescape that would enable us to feature birch and water together. We had a specific place in mind for where the drawing will feature in the book.

The weather was cold, as it was yesterday when we visited the Black Wood of Rannoch, but it was sleeting too and the sun didn’t appear all day. Sarah worked from the shelter of a tent, as the paper had to be kept dry at all times. She developed the drawing first with pencil, allowing the various elements of the treescape to be brought together.

Sarah Simblet working on the pencil under-drawing before adding ink Gabriel Hemery working on The New Sylva on the shore of Loch Rannoch Sarah Simblet working on the drawing of birch and the loch shore from the shelter of a tent during a bitterly cold December day.