Virginia standing in a doorway in a denim jacket, small framed landscapes on the wall beside her

About me

My work is inspired by East Lothian's unique light and shifting skies. I paint mainly en plein air using oil paints, responding directly to my surroundings. I often return to familiar places to discover something new.

Through my paintings, I aim to capture not only what I see, but also the emotions, atmosphere and sense of being in these places.

I have set up this website to show my paintings, to write posts about my adventures and to connect with others.

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to see the world through my eyes.

Virginia x

How I paint

I paint mostly in oils. A painting can start outdoors in acrylic, especially en plein air, and then back at the studio I build it up in many layers of oil over the course of months, letting each layer dry.

My signature at the moment is painting the canvas shocking pink first, then making sure wee bits of it strike through when I paint over it.

Where I paint

Most of the places I paint are close to home, places I can reach by bike, on foot or by car. Some I visit over and over again, as if trying to find something new in a familiar place. I take my paints wherever I go, on family holidays, hen dos, you name it. My paintings are almost like the diaries of my life.

Haddington Dunbar North Berwick Cockenzie the Lammermuir Hills the Pentland Hills Catterline Mallorca

Virginia outdoors in a patterned shirt, head down, drawing in a sketchbook

Out painting

A painting of the shore propped up on a blue sheet among the rocks and grass it shows, with the sea behind — The Boat Shore

A painting on a small easel among pink willowherb on the clifftop, the sea and harbour behind it — Catterline

Three small paintings of fishing boats laid out on the harbour wall above the boats themselves — Cockenzie Harbour

A painting of hills laid on the bonnet of a red car, with the same hills and a fence beyond — The Lammermuir Hills, on the car bonnet

A board painted shocking pink lying on the ground in a wood, a bicycle beside it — A shocking pink ground, before anything else goes on

A pink painted canvas on an easel on a decking, a green field behind — Loch Leven

A small painting of white villas and palms held up in front of the seafront path it shows, the sea and hills beyond — Pine Walk, Mallorca

A painting of purple and green foliage on the grass beside a riverbank, with a palette of paints — The Tyne, Haddington

Virginia smiling in the open front door of her home, a Venue 1 sign on the door and framed paintings in the hall — Venue 1, Haddington Art Weekend

Virginia reaching up to hang a painting on a gallery wall covered in framed work — Hanging a show

Exhibitions and press

In September 2026 I opened my home as Venue 1 for Haddington Art Weekend. What's On East Lothian wrote a feature on the house gallery, and the East Lothian Courier covered the weekend.

In June 2026 I showed twelve paintings in Prism, a group exhibition at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh.

Every exhibition

Commissions

I take commissions. Iris was one. If you have a place or a subject in mind, tell me about it.