⛰ HIGHLAND RETREAT

Over the past week I have spent more time with my 89-year-old mother than I have in years. I decided to treat her to a staycation in a lodge in Ballater, nestled in the heart of Royal Deeside. What an inspiring place for an artist.

There were mountains, glens, trees, waterfalls, falling autumn leaves and trees of every shade of red, and vibrant orange. However, most pleasure on this trip was derived from watching the sheer joy of mum having her first proper holiday in years, away from the confines of her Covid restricted four walls.

Originally it was intended to be a holiday with me and both grandchildren, but the current restrictions meant only our extended family bubble could gob (I am her carer) My daughter had to drop out. Trips out for a drive in the beautiful Highland scenery, afternoon tea, coffee shop lunches and fancy dinners became our itinerary, with a lot of resting in between.

I caught up on a pointillism pet portrait commission and designed this year’s Christmas card... a traditional robin with holly berries, treated to a bit of pointillism magic.

Hopefully, I can get them printed and ready for sale in the next couple of weeks. I am thinking red envelopes are in order, so a sourcing challenge for the printer. Sourcing anything at the moment is trickier due to Covid related supply chain delays. 

I also took the time to make final tweaks to my memoir ‘ No, I don’t talk to dead bodies’- the memoir of a forensic psychiatrist, as I was due to send the whole manuscript to a publisher in Florida for comment . Part of this process involved my two adult children having first sight of the content. It was incredibly daunting.

There is so much personal investment in the content of a memoir that feedback is likely to feel very personal too. They loved it ... what a relief. Their feedback meant a lot to me. I now feel more confident to actively pursue literary agents and publishers.

This will be my focus over the next few months, whilst trying to meet commission demands and deal with Christmas orders. I have been deluged with pet portrait orders recently. I suspect this is the start of a wave.

Rhona x