Beautiful Places in Monmouthshire That Inspire My Paintings

Living and painting in this wonderful part of Wales means I'm never far from inspiration. I feel so lucky because there are so many beautiful places in Monmouthshire. When I visit them, I love to wander, breathe in the fresh air, notice the changing colours of the seasons and simply enjoy being surrounded by nature.

Naturally, as an artist, these landscapes play a huge part in what inspires my paintings. Sometimes the sweeping view across the mountains catches my eye. Sometimes, it's the breathtakingly beautiful changing skies. I love the sunlight filtering through the trees, the masses of wildflowers greeting you as you walk along a country lane, and the unexpected combinations of colours that fill my heart with joy.

For me, spending time in nature and being creative go hand in hand. A walk can clear my head, lift my mood, and leave me itching to get back to my paints. I would love to share those experiences with you. So here are my five favourite beautiful places in Monmouthshire that inspire my art, in no particular order; I love them all equally. I urge you to visit them, enjoy their beauty, and perhaps experience inspiration yourself.

1. The Skirrid - Dramatic Views and Changing Skies

The first of my beautiful places in Monmouthshire I adore is The Skirrid, or, to give it its Welsh name, Ysgyryd Fawr. The mountain has a distinctive shape, so once you know it, you seem to spot it everywhere around Abergavenny. At 486 metres, it rises dramatically from the surrounding landscape on the easterly edge of the Black Mountains.

The Skirrid is sometimes known as the Holy Mountain. There are all sorts of fascinating stories and legends attached to it, including The Devil's Table! Indeed, alongside evidence of an Iron Age fort, the ruins of St Michael's Chapel can still be found at the summit. For me though, much of its magic is visual.

I love the way the Skirrid changes depending on the weather, season, and time of day. One moment it can be glowing in sunshine beneath a huge blue sky; the next it can be dark, foreboding and blanketed by clouds. It's the way I feel when visiting Skirrid that inspires my work. The colours, light, atmosphere, and overwhelming sense of joy of being outside and connected to nature. That's what I bring to the canvas, not an accurate landscape painting, but a place shrouded in wonder and mystery.

If you'd like to experience it yourself, there is a great walking guide available on the National Trust website here. It takes about 2 hours and is 4 miles long. On a clear day, the summit rewards the climb with far-reaching views across the surrounding Welsh countryside. If you need replenishment after your endeavours, why not visit Wales' oldest pub, The Skirrid Inn? Steeped in history, character and charm, The Skirrid Inn is reportedly very haunted!

Look for inspiration:

Notice the shape of the mountain against the sky, the layers of distant hills, and how dramatically the colours change as clouds pass overhead.

2. Sugar Loaf - Not a Volcano!

Number two in my list of beautiful places in Monmouthshire to inspire your creative flow is Sugar Loaf Mountain. Despite its uncanny resemblance to a volcano, with its conical peak (more prominent when viewed from the east), I can assure you that this mountain will not erupt. It is, like the rest of the peaks in the Black Mountain range, formed of old red sandstone.

Sugar Loaf, or Mynydd Pen-y-Fâl, to give it its modern Welsh name, is higher than Skirrid, standing at 596 metres. From the top, there are panoramic views across South Wales, the Bannau Brycheiniog and, on the very best of days, into South-West England.

It's not only the views that inspire me, though. Beneath the rugged mountain wilderness and expanses of sky, I love to follow winding paths through bracken and grasses. At the foot of Sugar Loaf you'll find St. Mary's Vale, where oak and beech woodland create a completely different atmosphere to the exposed mountain above.

I love this combination and contrast. I find myself noticing the little things, greens changing with the seasons, purple and russet tones. As shadows move across the mountain, tiny flashes of colour demand my attention. And you don't have to be an artist to enjoy those details either. Creativity encourages us to really look. So, if you choose to visit these beautiful places in Monmouthshire, I urge you to stop for a minute and notice five colours around you. Greens, blues, browns, yellows, and unexpected colours hiding within the landscape. You might be surprised by how much you see.

Sugar Loaf was gifted to The National Trust by suffragette lady Rhondda. You can learn more about visiting on their dedicated Sugar Loaf visitors page here.

Look for inspiration:

My focus when I am here is always on the changing colours of the hillside, the enormous skies and the contrast between sheltered woodland and wild, open mountain. Oh, and don't forget that Bannau Brycheiniog is also a certified dark skies location. Look up and see the stars; they are magnificent.

3. The Blorenge - Big Landscapes, Big Skies, and Space to Breathe

The wonderfully named Blorenge, or The Blorenge, features third in my beautiful places in Monmouthshire list for inspiration. However, as I stressed earlier, this list is in no particular order, because Blorenge has a completely different character again.

From its higher ground you can look across the Usk Valley towards Abergavenny, with Sugar Loaf and the Skirrid offering unmistakable backdrops. The sense of space is inspiring here. A huge landscape puts everything else into perspective. Enormous skies and land layered in shapes and tones offer colours that stretch into the distance. That's wonderful material for a painting.

Connecting with nature for creativity and wellbeing is something that is incredibly important to me, both in my original oil paintings and in my creative wellbeing workshops. Blorenge never disappoints, and it is easy to see why this landscape has inspired generations of people. Plus, a little fun fact for you fact, Blorenge is just one of two words that rhyme with orange in the English language, the other aptly being a botanical term, sporange.

If you decide to visit Blorenge, you may find a quick visit to the Abergavenny Town website helpful.

Look for inspiration:

Much of Blorenge is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest thanks to the wonderful heather moorland, offering a fantastic array of colours and textures, enough to inspire any artist. Also consider how the blues, greens and yellows fade as you look out to the distant hills. It's Mother Nature creating her own painter's palette.

4. Linda Vista Gardens - Colour, Flowers, and Little Moments of Joy

You may be pleased to learn that not all beautiful places in Monmouthshire require climbing a mountain!

Linda Vista Gardens in Abergavenny (click the link to learn more) is somewhere I love for completely different reasons. Close to the town centre and next to Castle Meadows, Linda Vista combines formal and informal gardens, lawns, unusual plants and beautiful specimen trees. It is also a Grade II listed Victorian garden, with views across the River Usk towards Blorenge.

Now, if you have seen my work, you will know that I love colour, and I am never short of inspiration when I visit this gorgeous place. I believe flowers are nature's little colour experiments. Pinks sit next to greens, purples appear against yellows, and suddenly you find a colour combination that you may never have considered using yourself. That's one of the beauties of being inspired by nature; there are no "rules", you just go with the artistic flow.

What I also love about this place is that it reminds us that beautiful places in Monmouthshire are everywhere, so you don't have to travel miles into the wilderness to reconnect with nature. Sometimes a stroll through a garden, sitting beneath a tree, or spending ten minutes looking closely at flowers is enough to change your mood and emotions. And don't worry, the gardens are free to enter and open all year round, so they are a beautiful place to revisit as the seasons change.

Look for inspiration:

Focus on one flower, tree, or corner of the garden that truly captures your attention. Rather than photographing everything, spend a moment working out why you are drawn to it. Is it the colour? Shape? Light? Texture? Or simply how it makes you feel?

5. The Graig - Woodland, History, and a Little Bit of Mystery

Last, but certainly not least of my beautiful places in Monmouthshire that inspire creativity in me, is the Graig, Y Graig, on the lower slopes of Sugar Loaf. I am so lucky, because I can walk to this from my home!

Hidden within this landscape are the remains of at least 25 dwellings and other structures from the 18th and 19th centuries. I do find it incredibly evocative when nature gradually reclaims a place where people once lived. It stirs the imagination, wondering how it once looked when tenants worked the land.

It is important to me to include The Graig in this list of beautiful places in Monmouthshire because woodland has a different sort of beauty from the big views of the Skirrid, Sugar Loaf and Blorenge. Your attention becomes smaller and closer. Focus leans towards moss, bark, tangled branches, patches of light, leaves beneath your feet and glimpses through the trees. As an artist, those textures, shapes and layers are endlessly interesting.

Additionally, I think places like The Graig also remind us that landscapes contain stories. What we are looking at isn't simply a pretty view. Generations of people have walked, worked and lived within these hills. You can follow in their footsteps too; click this link to Visit Monmouthshire and discover free guided walks that take in this wonderful, inspiring location.

Look for inspiration:

Forget the big views for the moment. Look closely at texture, patterns and the smaller details we often fail to see. Let The Graig take you by the hand and lead your imagination on an exciting journey.

Beautiful Places in Monmouthshire - Discover Your Own Inspiration

So, those are my top 5 beautiful places in Monmouthshire, but one of the joys of living here or visiting this wonderful county is that inspiration seems to be everywhere. Importantly, you don't have to be an artist to experience it either. Take a sketchbook. Take photos. Write down a few words. Collect colour ideas. Sit quietly with a flask of tea or simply walk without feeling the need to create anything at all. Creativity often begins with noticing. Above all else, enjoy the pleasure of reconnecting with nature.

That's what I do. When I visit these beautiful places in Monmouthshire, little moments stay with me, and sometimes, eventually, they find their way into one of my paintings. Importantly, my paintings aren't just about recreating somewhere I've seen. They are about trying to capture the colour, joy, freedom, and feeling I experience when I'm there.

That's why these beautiful places in Monmouthshire keep calling me back. No visit is the same. Each remind me to look, to think, and to relax. They make me want to paint. They inspire me.

Please, let me know if you decide to visit one or more of these locations and how you get inspired.

Not sure where to start? Discover one of my creative wellbeing workshops or browse through my original oil paintings for sale in my gallery. You might just find a little inspiration of your own.