Linlithgow Palace – Inktense Pencils/Watercolour on a Watercolour Moleskine
Linlithgow Palace is about 20 miles west of Edinburgh. It overlooks Linlithgow Loch and this scene was painted from the far side of this stretch of water. It is now a ruined structure maintained by Historic Scotland. The history of this place is fascinating. Both James V and Mary, Queen of Scots were born in the palace, James in 1512 and Mary in 1542. After the Union of the Crowns, in 1603 the palace was neglected and was largely destroyed by the Duke of Cumberland in 1745 towards the end of the second “main” Jacobite uprising.
I’ve visited this place a few times and am always impressed at the sheer scale of what is left. It is almost completely built of large stone blocks which must weigh a few hundred pounds each. It is marvellous how our ancestors built this structure. The various rooms are well described by Historic Scotland, with drawings of how they must have looked. I find it deeply moving to stand in the Royal Apartments where Mary was born over 450 years ago. The story of Mary, Queen of Scots, is well documented and worth reading to understand the history of Scotland. She has a special place in the hearts of many Scots, even to this day.
roseindigo 11:12 pm on March 2, 2009 | #
Another winnr. Love the clouds. Mary is one of my favorite historical persons. Too bad that she was used in all sorts of political intrigue by all sorts of nefarious factions, and for the way her life ended.
trebor61 8:59 am on March 4, 2009 | #
Thanks for this, Roseindigo. Its nice to realise that folk in other countries are familiar with our history. I’ve seriously taken your comments, on 28th Feb and 1st March, to heart and am trying to work some of these wee efforts into full-sized paintings. So far I’ve completed a full-sized version of my Feb 3rd post. You can see this at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28475994@N00/3305356989/in/set-72157614372478902/
We have also invested in a year’s pass for all of Historic Scotland’s buildings so I just might get some more inspiration. So far we have visited Linlithgow Palace and Edinburgh Castle – my first visit for over twenty years, despite it being “just along the road”. If you are at all interested you can see some photos at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28475994@N00/
Good luck at your end and watch out for those mountain lions – Regards Bob
roseindigo 6:41 pm on March 4, 2009 | #
I took a look on flickr and it’s gorgeous, especially the sky. But I’m not sure you need to re-work anything. I don’t know about Scotland, but in this neck o’ the woods I turn a lot of my local scenery into cards for tourist shops—-and it works. Sometimes I even take my Moleskine apart and frame one or two in small mats and frames and tourists buy those also because they aren’t too big to fit into their luggage. Yes, I know it hurts to take a Moleskine apart, and I only do it if I have a particularly good one which I think will sell (after I make a scan of it).
Can’t wait to see more of your historic buildings. That pass should be an inspiration. Wonder if they allow sketching of some of the interiors.
trebor61 2:20 pm on March 5, 2009 | #
Thanks again, for your feedback. I’m looking forward to getting some more visits in and will add lots more stuff on flickr as I progress. Many places have signs which either forbid photography which is understandable ie The Crown Room in Edinburgh Castle (Security reasons perhaps?) or allow it under certain conditions such as The Royal Apartments in the same place (You are not allowed flash photography as there are some very old paintings but you can otherwise use a camera). Some places downright forbid any photography – the Newhaven Fisheries Museum – which is “Curious” since this is a small, local set of exhibits. As to sketching, most places allow it except in the National Galleries where they must assume crazed individuals might attack portraits with a biro. Other places, such as Edinburgh’s National Museum actively encourage folk, especially chorlder, to draw/sketch the exhibits – there is an annual, Boxing Day competition for youngsters under 16 (I’m going to sneak in, under disguise, next year)
trebor61 2:22 pm on March 5, 2009 | #
sorry, for chorlder read children