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Finished artwork for Colours of Scotland and Burns Night

  • sarah816202
  • 2 days ago
  • 4 min read

An amazingly creative and entertaining night was spent producing stunning artworks in readiness for the Burns Night celebration, 25 January 2026. A lot of inspiration was to be had from the dramatic scenery and all things Scottish, especially the poetry of Robbie Burns, which fuelled some of our creatives to even write some of their own 'odes'. Please take your time to browse the gallery and leave your thoughts.


Red based tartan background with a white opaque central space the artwork placed on top. Picture on light brown paper. Musical score with notes red rose on one side and a purple thistle on the other. Written quotes in black pen in old style gold scrolls top and and bottom of the music score, of Burns songs and poems.
Burns Night-inspired artwork by Helen

Helen - Take your time and look closely at the words of this; you will recognise some of them as they are the more famous works of Robbie Burns. This is an incredibly clever concept and composition, beautifully decorated. Helen explained, "I used Barbara's idea of having something visual faffed about in Gemini until I got a design I wanted."

She then went on to say she had to use a different technique and add in another element, making it a mixed media artwork, as some of the music lines were part printed, part drawn. Materials used: Micron pen, coloured pencil and Gemini for the grid.


Red based tartan background with a white opaque central space the artwork placed on top. White paper background top image by Donna, shows a Scottish flag, blue with a white diagonal cross and a brown flag pole to the left as a back drop. A plate of food beneath shows a large brown sausage shape - haggis and some yellow mounds either side of the plate and some small green balls. Bottom picture, by Val is a side profile of a man, brown hair and side burns, yellow cravat; black jacket with dark blue and red fastening at the front.
Burns Night-inspired artwork by Donna and Val

Donna and Val - A fantastic collaboration between Donna and Val, a great celebration of Burns Night and Robbie Burns. Val with her portrait of Burns, great proportions, and he looks like he's addressing the Haggis at the Burns Supper, which Donna drew and presented with the Scottish flag flying in the background. A fantastic creative team who work so well together.

Felt-tip pens were used.



Red based tartan background with a white opaque central space the artwork placed on top. Partial white background, obscured by brown staining and purple drops in the upper part, tall thistle type flowers to the right with purple flowers and a pine tree to the left, green branches with tall brown trunk. Ground are 3 small men running with spears wearing grey tunic and leggings. Right; orange, brown and purple tartan beast with snout, horns, webbed feet and tail
Burns Night-inspired artwork by Barbara

Barbara - this is her version of "Burns Night". She says, "Burns was a bit of a joker, and so her artist interpreted a Pictish mythical creature known as the 'Beast of Bru Forest' and amended it into a more modern mythical creature, the 'Wild Haggis of the Irn Bru' variety".

__________________

My Ode to a Haggis - Tribute by Barbara


Oh, the Irn Bru Ancient wild Haggis was a very fine tartan indeed.

It was hunted for its finest fur

And often cornered in its lair.

The hunters would get as high as a kite, on ancient plants, not weed!!

__________________


Barbara wrote this ode to accompany her artwork!

I love the way this creative work looks aged and almost like a scene from a cave painting, with the menacing beast of giant proportions! Amazingly imaginative, and yet it does have historical significance as Barbara and I chatted about and found truths behind some aspects, questions remain to this day... Watercolour paints, tea and coffee were used to stain the paper for an ancient effect.


Red based tartan background with a white opaque central space the artwork placed on top. Partial white background, picture central of a cartoon male character wearing a red and light blue stripey tam-o-shanter hat, thick black rimmed glasses, ginger red hair and light blue top and trousers. On the left is a large orange bottle of Irn Bru and below are 4 dog shapes 2 dark blue, 2 orange. Wavy light blue and yellow scribble lines surround the other pictures
Burns Night-inspired artwork by Phil

Phil - This is fabulously colourful, and Phil brought a lot to our art group as we chatted through all things Scottish, and he then put his twist on them. Welcome to Phil in a tam o'shanter hat, wearing a red wig and glasses, fashioned by the Proclaimers, with some wee Scottish Highland terriers around him. For refreshment, there was, of course, the obligatory Irn Bru. He used his Staedtler pens for all the vibrant shades.


Red based tartan background with a white opaque central space the artwork placed on top. White background; small cottage top of page 2 windows and door in brown; bottom of page is a seaside in blue and by the sea is a picnic with a drink and a few items of food
Colours of Scotland-inspired artwork by Noor

Noor - This is a really lovely drawing by Noor. It looks very peaceful; it has so many different elements going on. A wee Scottish cottage, a seaside, which could be a Loch perhaps and a picnic. Looks like a very happy time. Colouring pencils were used.


Red based tartan background with a white opaque central space the artwork placed on top. Pale coloured picture of a coastal village, buildings are red, yellow and blue along the harbour wall. Sea is blue, there is a red and blue boat in the water on the lower right in the distance there are green hills. The sky is blue
Colours of Scotland-inspired artwork by Andy

Andy - This is a very dreamy drawing, and I could instantly recognise this as the coastal town of Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, due to the distinctly colourful buildings along its harbour front. Love this, Andy. I've not been to any of the Islands, but would like to explore them one day...

Created using coloured pencils.


Red based tartan background with a white opaque central space the artwork placed on top. Sunset, orange, pink, purple, grey, blue, white over a loch, centre and castle ruin mid front, mid grey stone few trees on a hill side, ground sparsely grassy dull green/grey, some yellow. Left and right mountainous areas of purple and green surround loch.
Colours of Scotland-inspired artwork by Sarah

Sarah - 'Sunset at Urquhart Castle' on the shores of Loch Ness. Steeped in history, beautiful scenery, dramatic colour, and mystery, I decided to take this on as my colours of Scotland artwork this week for many reasons. I visited this area many years ago and fell in love with the rugged remoteness of the environment. It is a thought-provoking place to be. I have a wild imagination and often wonder what lives beneath the waters of Loch Ness. Anything is possible; it does feel eerie there. Keep an open mind. I intend to return and sketch plein air, how amazing would that be... Watercolour with fine line marker for a few details.


A lot of very different ideas and paths were explored during this topic; you never quite know where artwork will take you or where people have had an experience that resonated with them. Take a moment to look into each picture, as there are a lot of details in each one. Leave a comment too, it would be great to hear from you. This is such a friendly group; we offer tips and techniques to each other while we are working on our own piece, so if things aren't going so well, this is invaluable to help you bring your piece of work together. Sharing and caring in our creative environment.


Please feel free to join us, a different theme every week, we run every Wednesday, 7:30pm. Follow the link provided, we are All4Art


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