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A moodie skye the fairy pools feat

A Moodie Skye Part 4 – The Fairy Pools

By Andrew Moodie
27th May, 2025

PLEIN AIR PAINTING WITH UNISON COLOUR PASTELS

See me painting outside on the Isle of Skye with Unison Colour pastels, using energetic mark making to create a work full of energy and capturing the essence of this beautiful scene. See how I depict cascading water, the flat clear pool and majestic mountains shrouded in mist.

The Fairy Pools are a popular landmark on Skye, being a series of clear natural pools and waterfalls below the Cuillin mountains. The Pools are popular with wild water swimmers but sadly (thankfully!) I was too busy painting to try that!

Pastel is the perfect medium for plein air painting, being so immediate. I would normally work more, back in the studio, on a painting painted outside (I will not normally work outside for more than two hours by which time light tends to change) but I really liked the marks made on this one while standing by the Pools in around 45 minutes – sometimes less is more, so this time I left it as is.

Once again working on SAIT P500 Black Sanded pastel paper.

Thanks to my filmmaker, Tony of T.P. Visuals who did a great job filming from tiny slivers of bank beside the Pools. And apologies to any botanical artists; there are actually very few trees on Skye, no doubt due to the harsh conditions, and I’m pretty sure there are very few, if any, silver birch trees, but there are plenty of rowan shrubs!

Andrew Moodie

Unison Colour Associate Artist

andrewmoodie.art
Profile photo of Andrew Moodie.

1 comment

  • Anne Sheila Livesey
    Anne Sheila Livesey
    3 months ago

    Mr Moodie, do you have pastel painting weekends?
    I’m sort of new to pastels – returning new.

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