Morag Paul
Watercolour Artist Morag was born into an artistic family in Scotland in 1964. With her grandfather, father and elder sister all being watercolour artists, she was already learning about the process of creating art, especially with the medium of watercolour, from an early age. As a young girl growing up in the Scottish countryside and spending holidays in the highlands and islands, she was constantly close to nature, spending hours observing cloud formations, the changing light of time of day or season, the colours and moods of the natural landscape. She studied foreign languages and Philosophy at the University of Glasgow and then moved to continental Europe where she continued to develop her watercolour painting skills, taking tuition from such watercolour masters such as Alvaro Castagnet, Fernand Thienpondt and Xavier Swolfs. Living on the continent has offered Morag increased opportunities to travel and paint, she has participated in juried exhibitions in several European countries where her work has received numerous awards and she was also awarded a jury prize at an international exhibition in Kobe, Japan.
In 2022, the German television channel Saarländischer Rundfunk broadcasted a report about the artist and her work. Morag has devoted herself to the medium of watercolour since it is so perfectly suited to her technique of painting her favourite subjects – nature and the landscape – outdoors. Lovingly created on location in places that inspire her, Morag’s paintings are unique pieces that capture the moment. She has developed her own recognizable style – free and yet figurative – creating impressionistic landscape paintings that are truly vibrant.
“Nature is my friend, brightening my darkest moods and constantly providing me with new sources of inspiration”
Frequently Asked Questions
People often ask me “Why do you only paint in watercolour?”
Well, people don’t ask pianists why they don’t play the trombone. The answer is that I love watercolour! I like using it – it is easy to transport, it dries quickly, it doesn’t involve a lot of smelly turpentine and carting unwieldy canvases around and it flows and mingles in a way that other media don’t.
“Why do you only paint landscapes?”
I love nature. It inspires me! Other people create wonderful still-life paintings, portraits of people or animals. Each to their own. That’s what inspires them. Nature and the landscape inspire me and even the best technique is no use if the artwork is not inspired.
“Why do you not paint in your studio from photos?”
In answer to the question why I don’t paint in a studio from a photo: People don’t ask why someone goes outside when they can just look out of the window! I do, occasionally, paint from photos when customers ask me to paint something for them in a place that it is unrealistic to visit in person such as of their honeymoon location on the Seychelles. However, I most often paint landscapes closer to home and I like being in nice places rather than just looking at photos of nice places. There is also the challenge of turning something real and 3 dimensional into something 2 dimensional. The photo is not the real thing – it is already a processed image of the landscape and it is already two dimensional. While the photo may be artistic in itself or even very detailed, the perspective in the photo is often different from the true perspective and what the camera lens sees is not necessarily what I see or want to emphasize. My father, himself a watercolour artist, always said “Paint what you see and not what you think you see”. This was very good advice. It is not a compliment for an artist if someone says “It looks like a photograph” unless, of course, you are a hyper-realistic artist. People viewing my paintings say the scene is really lifelike and they feel they are at that place themselves. That is the result that I am aiming for. I want to transport people to beautiful places that mean something to them.
“How long does it take to complete a painting?”
A couple of hours today– depending on the size – but a lifetime of learning!