Certainly the group of amateur artists I met on a holiday watercolours course at Castle of Park in Cornhill, Aberdeenshire, admitted they had been drawn by the home comforts of good food and a house party atmosphere in the stylish castle, as much as the talents of their expert tutor.

The surprising warmth of the centrally-heated castle and the grandiose rooms such as the Royal Stewart, clad in its namesake tartan wallpaper with a four-poster bed, en suite bathroom, antique furniture and garden views from its bow windows, immediately make you feel cosseted. I’m told the history of the room (dating all the way back to 1723) and the bright red tartan wallpaper are especially thrilling to most American visitors.

So the only thing I could see the students had to suffer for their art was the unpredictable Scottish weather. Even in late May, there had been snow, thunderstorms, showers and warm sunshine all in the space of a week.

Lightning may have fused the electricity in the village, but at Castle of Park, which has its own generator, there was no loss of power to the elbows of those enthusiastic painters. First thing in the morning, after a hearty breakfast that included the choice of slow-cooked overnight porridge, they hung on every word of the Dartmoor Artist John Christian as he deftly illustrated wet on wet. His emphasis is on painting outdoors in a fast, free style.

John sounded like a Grand National commentator as he galloped through instructions, shouting out the names of the paints as if they were competing horses: ‘Windsor Blue’, ‘Burnt Umber’ and now ‘French Ultramarine’ as his brush strokes raced over the paper. First past the post was a wood brought magically to life in front of our very eyes. I never knew watching paint dry could be so exciting!

SEE AUGUST 2005 EDITION OF SCOTTISH FIELD TO READ FULL STORY

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