Winter is the best time of year to research new trees to draw. The skeletal forms are mesmerising, whilst often challenging, due to the difficulty in extracting their form from the background. A specimen tree on the horizon with the sun glinting through makes an ideal subject to draw as a silhouette, but nature doesn’t often present this scene. Deciding on the composition usually takes place on site and involves preliminary sketching and the taking of numerous photographs. The images are taken from a distance to set the scene and then closeups for the trunk and branch configuration, plus bark details. Revisiting the location many times is usually necessary to glean particular information - rarely can one study contain everything required to transpose a true picture. The work is intense and detailed and executed in the studio.

 ABOVE - Oak and Hall, Holkham, Norfolk

The process commences with serious editing, coupled with decisions about which trees to draw in silhouette and those to detail. The drawing technique employs a discipline of restricting the building of the form just to making monotone marks, rather than the employment of colour or shading, leading to a focussed study that is very time consuming to create. The mass of  marks, varying in shape, strength and size, is repeated, then repeated. The approach to drawing is in a similar vein to that of the traditional building process of creating a sculpture with the rhythm of multiple marks both building and extracting until a form evolves from the ground. The technique is paradoxically quick in hand movement yet slow to evolve.

 ABOVE -The Old Oaks, Felbrigg, Norfolk

On a research visit to Felbrigg recently, a pair of old oaks at the front of the Hall stood out as worthy specimens. There was also a wonderful very old chestnut tree asking to have its character recorded before the next storm took another limb. These trees will studied at length then drawn for the Arboretum Collection where they will accompany the sycamore and beech at Felbrigg.

ABOVE - Chestnut, Felbrigg, Norfolk 

General Information

Jac Scott is multi-award winning artist and a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors. She draws and paints what she loves: trees, wildlife, the countryside and seascapes that she discovers in Norfolk. The detailed drawings are shared as fine art giclée prints in limited and open editions. The artists retains the originals. The prints are made by specialist printers who are members of the Fine Art Trade Guild. A giclée print is a term used to describe a fine art digital printing process combining pigment based inks with high quality archival quality paper to achieve an inkjet print of superior archival quality, light fastness and stability.

ABOVE - Holm Parade, Holkham, Wells, Norfolk

The Limited Editions of 50 Collections

Signed, catalogued, limited edition of 50, fine art prints are available framed or unframed.

The drawings are giclée printed on Hahnemuhle German Etching 310gsm pH neutral paper made from 100% cellulose.

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ABOVE LEFT - Framed Sycamore, Felbrigg

ABOVE RIGHT - Framed Beech, Holkham

LOWER LEFT - Framed Beech, Felbrigg

LOWER RIGHT - Framed Three Oaks, Saxthorpe

Open Editions

All open edition prints are printed on Redcliffe Watercolour paper and are available in different sizes and colours - framed or unframed.

 A simple story of a painting.

Sometimes it’s the simple pleasures of living in this beautiful county that bring a lingering smile, such as looking forward to the casual, yet dynamic blooming of the wild poppies in June. The impact can be just a single lost flower or the invasion of a whole field swathed in red.

 But usually it’s a graceful lacing of the field edges - red heads of delicate crepe paper petals bobbing in the breeze.

This June on a winding lane from Edgefield, near Holt, there was a particularly wonderful field of poppies - so inspiring I had to paint the view.

2020 saw the start of a whole new portfolio of paintings for artist Jac Scott.  Fluid Lands emerged through the lockdown as the artist was able to dedicate significant studio time to developing the new work with pigments and wax.  The Storm Collection was the initial response now followed by Linear Lands.

Each work is a unique response to local Norfolk sea and land scapes.

Inspiration - Linear Lands Collection

North Norfolk, with its big skies and undulating vistas, specialises in creating layered wide and sinuous bands of landscape.

There is a rhythmic poetry where the bands of interest stretch across the land forming stripes of colour, texture and form. This striping delineates and dissects the panorama leading to an inspiration that explodes across the canvas - broad strokes of emotion and energy captured in paint.

Technique - Encaustic Painting

The ancient method of encaustic art was practiced by the Greeks and Egyptians with 2000 year old examples still in existence. Wax and pigments are fused with heat which dries quickly capturing brush strokes, drips and textures. Encaustic art is an all consuming very physical practice.  One is seduced by the process of not just applying paint with a brush, palette knife or hands, but also the harnessing of heat to energise materials and move the liquids around. The fluidity of the process allows the materials to mix and metamorphose.

East View, Burnham Overy Staithe, Norfolk

The coastal path elevates the walker to view a wide vista of lines on the landscape where reeds, stream, bank, grass, hedge and sky form natural bands.

Phacelia, Hindolveston, Norfolk

Bands of wonder in a local meadow where phacelia forms a lacy border to rustling wheat, dwarfed by a row of Scots pines.

Phacelia is a wonder plant. It has beautiful scented purple flowers with dense fern-like foliage. It smothers weeds and has an extensive root system that improves soil structure  - it is often used as a green manure. It grows quickly showing blooms for 6-8 weeks - providing an excellent cut flower and one of the top flowers for bees and hoverflies.