John Muir Country Park

John Muir Country Park is one of my favourite parts of East Lothian's coast line. It's a great place to go for a run or a walk. My dog Harvey loves running through the woods and along the sand flats. It is a place of huge contrasts. When the tide is high the place transforms for the expanse of sand and mudflats into an exciting water world. The full moon has given some very high and low tides over the last few days and the contrast between them is remarkable. The high tides and wind bring with them a fair degree of coastal erosion. About a year and a half ago, I painted a view of the coastal edge of the park. It has Trappain Law in the background. I walked along the same bit of coast a couple of weeks ago and you can hardly recognise the area, so many trees have toppled over. I could tell it was the same place below because I found the tree trunk shown in  the painting.

The object of the walk that day was to paint another picture further along the edge of  the park. I went armed with all my gear and sat next to a burn near a wee bridge which connects to a headland. It is not visible in the painting but there is a funky bench to sit on and look at the scene. I'm planning to go back again and do another view from in front of the headland with the bench in full view. It was a freezing day when I did this painting and it also started to rain. Some of the effects on the watercolour are due to mother nature!