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Scotland in Colour - Burns Night

  • sarah816202
  • 3 days ago
  • 2 min read

Burns Night

Every year on 25 January, Scotland comes together to celebrate Robert Burns, the nation’s most famous poet. Burns was born in Alloway in 1759 and died in Dumfries in 1796, aged just 37. Despite his short life, his poetry and songs—covering love, nature, humour, and humanity—continue to be shared and enjoyed around the world.

Burns Night is a time for gathering with friends and family to enjoy food, poetry, music, and storytelling. A traditional supper often begins with the Selkirk Grace, followed by haggis, neeps, and tatties. The famous poem “Address to a Haggis” is recited as the dish is brought to the table, and a toast is raised—often with whisky, though tea or a soft drink is just as welcome. Music, laughter, and dancing at a ceilidh often follow, celebrating Burns’ lasting cultural legacy.


Man and a lady dancing centrally in Scottish wear,. Man in a kilt and jacket, tartan and lady in a long black dress with a tartan sash. Long red hair, fair skin. Filled hall with ceilidh dancing, chandeliers atop, balconies back and staircase in the background.
Ceilidh with guests wearing kilts. Ronald Gray-Cheape of Glenaladale and Sophie Neech - Source, Tatler. Photo by Hugo Burnand

Scotland in Colour

Scotland is renowned for its dramatic and beautiful landscapes, from the wide open spaces of the Highlands to the gentler scenery of the Lowlands. Purple glens of heather and thistles are brightened by yellow gorse, while fiery sunsets glow over lochs and small villages gathered around a kirk, with a burn running through.

The constantly changing light and weather shape Scotland’s atmosphere. Stormy skies, calm seas, rugged coastlines, and distant islands create powerful moods and endless visual inspiration. Each season brings its own colours and textures, often changing from hour to hour. This sense of scale and unpredictability leaves a deep impression, feeding the imagination and inspiring artists, writers, and storytellers. And who knows what mysteries lie beneath Scotland’s deep lochs—perhaps even the legendary Loch Ness Monster.


Mountain view of purple coloured vegetation of valley sides, a small bush with orange berries bottom left corner, some trees at the base, behind a white farmhouse. A stretch of loch water in the distance, still and mirror like. There's a burn a small water course winding its way from the centre down the hill to the loch. A dam wall can be seen in the distance. Winding roads and paths can be seen carving around the mountainside.
Heather moorlands with a burn running down into the valley into the loch - Source Pinterest

Art Inspiration for this week;


🎨 Create a Colourful Burns Night Art piece, think about the food, drink, poetry recitals, pipers, firelight, a ceilidh, kilts, family, and friends at a celebration.

🎨 Think Scottish identity and tradition, reimagine a tartan, symbols, thistles, stags, haggis, and whisky. A clan and a community/belonging create an artwork around one or some of these.

🎨 Scottish landscapes and nature, think about the dramatic colours, research areas of interest, the Highlands, and Islands. Highland Cows, etc., choose one and sketch with colour.

🎨 Think about buildings and the history of Scotland, the weather, and dramatic backdrops, add presence to these, draw one and add colour.

🎨 Scottish dancing, ceilidhs and bagpipes with festival and celebration vibes – bring this energy to an artwork

🎨 Perhaps you are drawn to folklore, myths, legends, a storyteller, a monster, an apparition in the mist, a stretch of water or a building in Scotland, capture this in your art.


I look forward to sharing time and seeing your portrait come together. It will be a great evening of creativity! See you all soon 🙂 Wednesday evening, 7:30 pm UK time. Please join us on link-tree select All4Art https://linktr.ee/all4inclusion

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