Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh is a lovely area to relax in, particularly in the summer months. For this particular painting, I wanted to capture it from a more unusual angle. I decided to climb Scott’s Monument, a Victorian Gothic monument to the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It’s 200 feet and 6 inches high and from its various viewing decks, one can get some outstanding panoramic views of Edinburgh. This particular one which I’ve captured in watercolour features folk relaxing in the shade of the trees. I always think Scott’s Monument looks like a Gothic version of Thunderbird Three.
For this painting of Edinburgh, I felt it was important to include figures to give a sense of scale to the overall scene and to provide a contrast of detail to the loose treatment of the grand trees that grace the Gardens. Edinburgh Castle and the National Gallery in the background contribute to the composition by adding further interest and depth.
Whenever I visit Edinburgh these days, I always try to visit the National Gallery. My favourite painting there is Lady Agnew by John Singer Sargent. It is superbly painted and demonstrates Sargent’s masterly ability to handle brush and paint.