Being a Sky Arts wildcard artist in 2023... at Castle Ward

So last June,  standing outdoors at 6 o’clock in the morning with 49 other talented artists, I did wonder what had made me want to be here, for the second time! It was the day of the Sky Arts Landscape painting competition and once again I was a wildcard. 

 And I did feel apprehensive when we were told that instead of painting the beautiful views over the lough we would be painting the castle building itself!… I never choose to paint buildings, so faced with the imposing facade of Castle Ward it was a daunting start!! A lot of the other artists felt disappointed too, but sometimes being taken out of your comfort zone can spark something new.  You have to explore, take risks and enjoy trying something different … forget the outcome and just immerse yourself in colour and process!

Once I started to look at the surroundings and set up my drawing board in the long grasses by some trees, I felt much more relaxed and immersed in nature. I loved the viewpoint over the pink topped grasses, with beautiful tall trees and shrubs framing the building.

I made marks in response to the gentle sound of the wind in the grasses, insects and bird noises overhead! Surprisingly, I enjoyed drawing the building itself… It had a romantic, nostalgic feel, full of past memories which I felt I could capture best with soft pastels and ink washes.. I never look for a representational feel instead I let the colours give a sense of being there in the pink grasses on a hot summer afternoon.

Highlight of the day was chatting with the judges about my process and drawing, and when artist and judge Tai-Shan Schierenberg described the colours I used as “yummy” that was such a great takeaway. The other judges Kate Byran and Kathleen Soriano  were both so supportive and friendly which made the atmosphere friendly and relaxed rather than too serious!

So, no I didn’t win, but I did get some great feedback from the judges, met some fantastic artists and came away stronger and braver as an artist! So don’t hold back, just go for it!

That’s a great win for me.

The sketch

Keeping things simple and focusing on family life, is always my starting point to circle back to if I’m feeling off kilter.

So too with my art practice… this August was my chance! No big projects, themes or studio work… simply go outside with a sketchbook to my favourite spots on Castlerock coastline.

But not without intention! I wanted to simplify my marks on the page without losing the energy of loose layers of colour, but not overwork which can happen so quickly.

I wanted to edit down what I saw to focus on those big sweeping horizons where sea and land meet, and note down those blocks of late summer colours as the season begins to change. Using pastel pencils in my sketchbook has become a favourite… keeping the drawing in sketch form rather than an over complicated study!

These have given me some fresh ideas for painting back in the studio, but whenever possible keep painting and drawing en plein air coming in to Autumn!

So if you are feeling stuck or just need time outside enjoying nature… picking up a pencil and sketchbook might be a simple reset.

Sketching with other artists is also a great way to get outside to sketch. Why not come along to my next en plein air workshop, https://www.flowerfield.org/workshops/

Why I want to capture an essence of place rather than a likeness

To be outside in the landscape reacting to weather, light, changing skies, hearing curlews and gulls swooshing overhead and the wind whipping through the dunes… this is what matters in my drawings.

I want to bring these experiences into my drawing… capturing a likeness is too restrictive and stifling and leaves me unsatisfied with my experience and what I hope to find in the finished drawing.


I want the process of drawing to be enjoyable and exciting, and not to know the outcome… and let my marks feel like mine and seep into my paintings back in the studio.

So my marks are quick and reactive, and colour helps describes mood and place. The marks on the page are the wind in the dunes, the gulls overhead, the barking dog on the shore and the soft but present incoming tide… it is the feeling of being there that excites me.

The Barmouth shoreline at Castlerock Drawing is a way of reacting to a place and using all your senses in your marks on a page

on location

Working on drawings at the Barmouth beach, castlerock