There are days that begin as one thing and end as something else entirely. For Beth Bathe, it was a misty morning on a Scottish loch that turned into one of those days.
“The first morning of my workshop in Inveraray, Scotland, began with a view that felt almost unreal: Loch Fyne stretched out before us, with the bridge and castle in the distance,” she says. “For a plein air painter, it was the kind of scene you hope for — and in Scotland, the kind you know won’t stay the same for long. Within minutes, the weather began its familiar cycle from sun to cloud to rain, then dissolving into mist and fog before clearing again.
Beth Bathe
“As I set up to demonstrate my technique, a couple of passersby stopped to watch. It turns out they were brothers who had traveled from New Hampshire to scatter the ashes of their father in the ancestral home of the Campbell Clan.
“By the time I’d finished my demo, I’d completed two paintings. The brothers, who had stood by quietly throughout, approached me and asked if they could purchase both pieces as keepsakes for their daughters, who hadn’t been able to make the journey. The exchange ended not with a handshake, but with embraces, and a few tears that needed no explanation.
“View From Inveraray 2” (water-mixable oil, 8×16 in.)
“As I packed up my paints and brushes, the sky offered its own benediction. A rainbow arched across Loch Fyne, stretching from the bridge to the far shore — a reminder that plein air fosters connections, sometimes at exactly the moment they’re needed the most.”
Stories like this one — unexpected, human, impossible to plan for — are exactly what the Postcards From the Road column in PleinAir Magazine was made to hold. Don’t miss a single one, subscribe now!
