May 2026

Back in my March 2026 blog post I mentioned my connection with Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH). The connection began after I donated money to the charity through raffles of my artwork. I'm currently creating a piece of artwork to celebrate 100 years of the charity. This is an ongoing project that combines the portrait of Dr Kate Fraser, the original founder of the charity and the map of Scotland.

As it is an open-ended project without time pressure I have allowed myself space to experiment with different versions of the design. This approach is allowing for a larger focus on the process and allowing different versions to develop naturally, as well as reflecting on conversations related to mental health. The hope for this project is to have one final selected version of the artwork to be printed, or a final piece to be created as an amalgamation of the designs. I am currently also reflecting on how more people can become part of the project. I'm wondering at the moment if this looks like a workshop, or opening up a way where people can contribute to the project.

You'll see below two examples of the artwork as the project currently stands. I have recently started to introduce the colours of SAMH, pink and blue. The designs are accompanied by one of my earlier drawings from a few years ago where I first tried the idea of creating artwork within the map of Scotland. Without 'The Bothy' and without the success of the raffles, the project dedicated to SAMH wouldn't be in place now. Thank you to all those who have supported me along the way so far. To date, we've raised £291 for SAMH.

I decided to support the charity because I believe that we all have mental health, whether we would consider ourselves to be in a good place or not. I'm fortunate now that I would say I am in a good place but life does bring challenges and there have been times, particularly in my twenties where I have needed support. Also, I hesitate to use the word good to describe mental health because I know that it is multi-layered and describing it as simply as good or bad doesn't cover how complex it really is. That said, I also firmly believe that practising art can improve your wellbeing and I will continue to support SAMH and I will continue to create art to inspire others to do the same.