For this series, Zanna travelled to her familiar haunts along the Argyll coastline, the Inner Hebrides, the Outer Isles, and also explored locations closer to home in Perthshire. Plein air painting is a constant in her practice – she is often seen perched on a knoll with her box easel, or sitting low to shelter from the wind, wrestling with the elements as she captures the shifting light, colour, and texture of the Scottish landscape.
Her studio work complements these outdoor sessions, and there is always another trip marked in the diary to inspire the next collection. Since taking on the running of The Watermill Gallery in 2021, these excursions have become even more precious.
Journeys to Tiree, Lismore, Appin, Glen Lyon, the Crieff Road, Rannoch, and the smaller isles of the west coast – occasionally venturing to the east – continued to fuel her passion to paint and fill the gallery with images of Scotland. As she often notes, the words ‘Haste Ye Back’, seen on the sign when leaving Oban – her regular launchpad to the Isles – captured the spirit of her enduring connection to these places.
Look back at a 2022 article: Zanna Wilson exhibition shows seascape artist’s view of Scottish coastline
Alison Jardine
Jardine makes hand crafted glassware with jewel like colours that beautifully complement the rich palette of Zanna’s works. Working from her studio in Edinburgh, she creates a range of work from small delicate sculptures to larger vessels and wall hangings. Her vessels are created in the kiln using a mix of heat and gravity to manipulate the glass into various forms that are characterised by luminous colour and pattern. Alison finds her inspiration in the natural world and has a particular love for translating the Scottish coastline’s colours, light and shapes into glass.
