Locus amoenus (‘pleasant place’) is a literary term which refers to an idealized place of safety or comfort which generally has three basic elements: trees, grass, and water. Often it will be in a remote place and function as a landscape of the mind, and also a place of refuge from the processes of time and mortality.

This last year has been a time of seeking such spaces, both real and imaginary, and a time for reflection and review.

In this context, I have revisited a printed element in a previous series of works Hortus Conclusus ‘the enclosed garden’ as part of Curved Stream at Traquair House in the Scottish Borders in 2015. These works incorporated a motif reproduced (through photo lithography) from the embossed design of a book cover in the museum room at Traquair. The motif suggested the design and symbolism of an enclosed or walled garden to which I added a ‘quartering of the world’ and water at the heart of the space. This new series of works are a reworking of an unfinished piece from the earlier series, and are now overlaid with the concept of the locus amoenus and our current experiences in relation to seeking solace, enclosures and green spaces in the face of a global pandemic. I have layered additional monoprinting and oil paint onto the paper

‘S Fhada Leam an Oidhche Gheamraidh (Long is the winter night)

This work is presented here as part of the Hulabhaig Collection by kind permission of the artist.

Work inspired by the songs of Murdo MacFarlane (Bàrd Mhealboist).

This song was written when Murdo was a young man, working in Manitoba, Canada, and is a classic ‘exile’ song. A very beautiful song. The translations don’t do the songs justice, either in the beauty of the gaelic original or the music.

"I wanted to use a horizon in a large-scale painting, and embody that sense of exile and longing in the song.  ‘Cianalas’ is a very particular term in gaelic, often translated as homesickness, it is much more profound than that, as this translation suggests: ‘A deep seated sense of belonging to the place where your roots lie. Normally attributed to the Outer Hebrides. There is no sadness or melancholy in cianalas, only the realisation of what is truly important in life.’"

‘S Fhada Leam an Oidhche Gheamraidh (extract)

I feel the winter night long 
Long, long, long it is 
I can see nothing but a bare prairie there 
And I can’t hear a wave coming to the shore

(Chorus) 
In the evening time when it’s getting dark 
Often the spirit will be full of longing 
Thinking that there is a long, long distance 
From where I would like to be ceilidhing 

The work was created for an exhibition curated by Ishbel Murray 2016 based around a book launch.

 'Le Mùirn'  (With Affection)  
Author - Catriona Murray https://www.ishbelmurray.org/coimhearsnachdcommunity.html

Mounted under glass (framed size 54cm x 54cm)

Mounted under glass (frame size 54cm x 54cm)

Framed Diptych, 19cm h X 14cm w (individually), (framed 50cm w x  40cm h)

Diptych 1.4m w x 70cm h (70cm x 70cm x 2)

Diptych, 30cm h x 40cm w (individually 30cm h x 20cm w)

Diptych 80cm w x 40cm h (40cm x 40cm)