Getty Arty in the Outdoors

There are few things in the world more beautiful than the nature that is all around us. Think about the all the amazing paintings, stories, songs, poems and even films you know that are based around nature. For centuries all sorts of artists have been inspired by the natural world – the exact same natural world that’s all around you.

One of the things our Wild Ways Well group likes to do is get our creative minds working in the outdoors. You don’t need to be Rembrandt or Spielberg to have a go at making art in the outdoors – even geniuses had to start somewhere!

Last Thursday we took our cameras and spent a couple of hours in the wildflower meadows of the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Seafar Wood Wildlife Reserve; and on Saturday we went up to the Forest Wood Reserve to see the Easter Island-style Moai chainsaw sculptures that have been created there. We had a great time pottering about in the sunshine, letting the feel of these natural spaces guide us as we sketched and photographed everything we could see.

We split into teams and challenged each other to take pictures around abstract themes such as “time”, “home”, “happiness”, “an ant’s eye view” or “something unexpected”. By looking at our surroundings from a slightly different angle, we realised that art and beauty was all around us.

Why not try it yourself? Think of five or so challenges and head out into Cumbernauld’s greenspaces with a camera – or even just with your imagination – and see what artworks you can create.  Share your work with our Cumbernauld Living Landscape via our Twitter or Facebook pages.