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Introducing Pascale Rentsch

We are delighted to present The Living Earth, Pascale Rentsch’s first solo exhibition at The Scottish Gallery.

Pascale’s practice is rooted in her enduring connection with the natural world. Born in Switzerland, she began drawing and painting as a child, often sketching wildlife on family outings with her ever-present sketchbook. This early sensitivity to her surroundings, and a formative encounter with the late John Busby, brought her to Scotland – a country she has called home and creative sanctuary since the late 1990s.

Now based in Easter Haining, East Lothian, Rentsch works en plein air, embracing the unpredictability of the Scottish weather. Rain, wind, and fleeting light are not obstacles to overcome but collaborators in her creative process. Her paintings are lyrical, emotional responses to

place and moment—less concerned with pictorial precision and more with conveying the spirit of experience. Her work becomes a visual diary, capturing not only what she sees, but what she feels.

From the golden glow of gorse at Barns Ness to the salt-tinged air of Islay or the quiet woodland paths near her home, Pascale paints with openness, curiosity, and heart. She brings to her work a belief in light – not only in the literal sense, but in the small glimmers of hope, connection, and kindness that exist in even the greyest of days.

It is a privilege to share Rentsch’s deeply personal and poetic body of work for the first time, which reveals a contemplative space where landscape, memory, and emotion are intricately interwoven.

Christina Jansen

The Living Earth Pascale Rentsch

We are part of the living Earth though we often don’t realise it but some artists have the ability to reveal to us that we are and Pascale is one of them she loves painting by the coast from east to west, north to south and capturing points of light those flower heads above the shore white horses dancing further out she uses all her senses to take it all in and become as one with it all she feels the energy of places with every fibre of her being and that is why we can truly say she expresses the living Earth.

Norman Bissell

I was born in Thun in Switzerland, and ever since I was a small child, I’ve been drawing and painting, creating my own beautiful world I could dive into. During my teenage years, my sketchbook was my constant companion. It

came everywhere with me. My mother would wait patiently while I sketched a hedgehog by the roadside on the way to the shops, or we’d sit together with a coffee as I drew the people around us.

My life changed when I was 15. I met John Busby (1928–2015), the acclaimed artist from East Lothian, who was teaching drawing and painting at Dählhölzli Zoo in Bern. He introduced me to the organic living line of the pencil. I studied Scientific Illustration at the Higher School of Art in Zürich but it was a course that left me feeling stifled and disconnected, lacking any space for personal expression.

John invited me to take part in his weeklong Seabird Drawing Course in North Berwick, Scotland. That experience opened my eyes. I saw how drawing and painting could be alive and full of energy – something to be championed and celebrated.

When the opportunity came to study art in Brighton in 1996, I took it. With hardly any

English, I left Switzerland and eventually moved to Edinburgh in 1997, where I completed my degree in Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art. I still vividly remember staying with the Busbys in their modernist home in East Lothian – doing the dishes at the kitchen sink at the age of sixteen, surrounded by a living paradise: a forest, a wooden bridge, an enchanting rose garden set amongst a sandstone ruin with the chorus of birdsong all around me.

Now, thirty-four years later, I’m sitting in that very rose garden, having been lucky enough to acquire this magical house from John Busby’s wife Joan. I have been living here with my family for the past year and I am amazed to be writing these words with the blackbirds, blackcaps and chiffchaffs singing in the background. Living here is a joy –not just because it is a magical place, but also the people. Since moving here, my whole family has been embraced by a small and special community, where neighbourly kindness and shared history are deeply rooted. I feel we are part of something timeless.

Living here also gives me the perfect setting to paint – nature is literally on my doorstep. I can choose between the intimate woodland views that surround the house, or the expansive, dramatic beauty of the sea and the Lammermuir Hills. I’ve spent many hours at Aberlady Bay, Gullane

Beach, Longniddry, White Sands, and of course, the hills. One of my favourite places is Barns Ness, with its glorious banks of gorse blooming by the sea. That place fills me with joy and hope. I’ve made countless family memories there – cooking sausages over a fire, with the gentle sound of the waves right next to us.

I love painting through the seasons – each one is uniquely beautiful. Painting outdoors, in situ, means embracing the elements: the wind whipping my work across the hills, paint freezing in the cold, and the ever-reliable Scottish rain. But I’m not out there to create a perfect image. I’m not trying to copy nature – I’m trying to express something deeper. A feeling. A fleeting emotion.

A sunny day allows for crisp brushstrokes. On cold days I paint fast, before my fingers go numb. And when it rains, this invites something special to happen. The weather becomes part of the work – its marks are absorbed into the surface. Everything is channelled into the marks I make. My paintings are like a diary without words. They hold moments and emotions in the way a page holds together sentences.

I love the landscape of Scotland, and I like to venture further afield. In August 2023, I travelled to Islay to paint. I stayed in a cottage near the shore and I’d climb down to the coast with my

watercolours. One afternoon, the heavens opened. I kept painting – not with an outcome in mind, but with a question: When you think it can’t be done, what happens if I try? The rain washed much of the paint away yet left its presence behind. That moment felt like magic – a kind of completeness, as though I were part of something greater. Even when things seem difficult, that’s often where the gold flecks begin to shimmer.

Painting in nature reminds me to go with the flow – to stay open to hope, possibility, connection, compassion, and kindness. It reminds me that life is always more than what we see on the surface.

The Isle of Luing holds a special place in my heart. It was the first island I ever drove to by myself, three years ago. That personal milestone led to many more adventures – including my trip to Islay, where I met Irene and her husband Tony, a beekeeper. What began as a gentle Has your car broken down? ended at their kitchen table, with warm homemade bread and honeycomb straight from the hive. When I returned to Luing in 2023, I met another remarkable person – Edna Whyte, an artist in her 90s. I visited her daily, sharing my paintings and exchanging reflections on life. These are the kinds of moments that only happen with open-hearted conversation.

These trips have allowed me to connect more deeply with myself and the world. The people I meet along the way bring warmth and meaning. Their stories – like the unseen fibres in paper –become part of the work. My paintings hold these invisible threads, these traces of the living earth and the quiet magic of encounter.

I always have two painting rucksacks ready – one small for spontaneous moments or travel, and a larger one with my painting trolley for planned outings. Family life keeps me busy, so I often have to seize the moment to paint – which sometimes means frantically packing the car and forgetting important items: my stool, an umbrella, even my paints or paper. Still, I go.

I’m always looking for the light – not just the obvious light, but the hidden glimmers. The golden leaves of a bush under a streetlamp, shells shining on a slate shore, gorse glowing like embers across a grey hillside. River flowers swaying at the water’s edge. These are the tiny lights that touch me, and I try to hold them – to paint them – in a spontaneous, heartfelt way. Even on the darkest days, those little lights are there.

When I truly look and feel, I connect. I see those lights. They are magical. I paint them. And I take them with me.

1. Dark Slate and Gold, Isle of Luing, 2024 mixed media on paper, 65 x 102 cm

2. Isle of Mull, Scotland, 2023 mixed media on paper, 38 x 56 cm

3. A Magic Place, Isle of Luing, 2024 mixed media on canvas, 56 x 72 cm

4. Seashore Grasses, 2024 mixed media on paper, 58 x 76 cm

5. Isle of Islay, 2024 mixed media on paper, 75 x 106 cm

6. Isle of Luing I, 2024 mixed media on canvas board, 24 x 30 cm

7. Isle of Luing II, 2024 mixed media on canvas board, 24 x 30 cm

8. Yours is the Earth and Everything that’s in it, 2024 mixed media on canvas, 56 x 72 cm

9. Beneath the Surface, 2024 mixed media on canvas, 40 x 40 cm

10. The Edge is Where Everything is Found, 2024 mixed media on paper, 38 x 56 cm

11. Sky and Water, 2023 mixed media on paper, 20 x 20 cm

12. Bass Rock, 2023 mixed media on paper, 20 x 20 cm

13. Ocean Waters, 2023 mixed media on paper, 20 x 20 cm

14. Dusk II, 2024 mixed media on paper, 20 x 20 cm

15. Dusk I, 2024 mixed media on paper, 28.5 x 28.5 cm

16. Sea and Gorse, 2024 mixed media on paper, 75 x 106 cm

17. Birds and Geese, 2024 mixed media on paper, 28 x 28 cm

18. Coastal Gorse, 2024 mixed media on paper, 58 x 76 cm

19. Hawthorn and Gorse, 2024 mixed media on paper, 38 x 58 cm

20. Apple Blossom and Gorse, 2024 mixed media on paper, 58 x 58 cm

21. Gullane, 2023 mixed media on paper, 75 x 106 cm

22. Sea Highlight, 2022 mixed media on paper, 38 x 38 cm

23. Coastal Blues, 2023 mixed media on paper, 57 x 75 cm

I love painting throughout the seasons; each uniquely beautiful. When painting in situ there can be many practical challenges: the wind blowing my paintings across the Lammermuir Hills, low temperatures freezing paints, and the frequent appearance of the rain in Scotland. But I am not overcoming these challenges to create the perfect image. I am not trying to copy nature but to express the essence of a feeling and emotion. A beautiful day allows for crisp brush marks. On cold days I have to paint and react fast before my fingers get too cold to hold a brush. When it rains it allows magic to happen. The weather leaves its mark.

24. Painting in the Rain, 2022 mixed media on paper, 76 x 116 cm

25. Estuary, 2022 mixed media on paper, 58 x 76 cm

26. Towards St Abbs Head, 2021 mixed media on paper, 58 x 76 cm

27. Winter Hues, 2022 mixed media on paper, 38 x 38 cm

28. Low Tide, 2023 mixed media on paper, 58 x 76 cm

29. Birds Fly Past, 2024 mixed media on canvas, 30 x 30 cm

30. St Abbs Head, 2023 mixed media on paper, 58 x 76 cm

31. Looking Towards the North, 2024 mixed media on paper, 65 x 102 cm

32. View across East Lothian, 2024 mixed media on paper, 38 x 56 cm

33. Heather Colours and Moving Clouds, 2022 mixed media on paper, 58 x 76 cm

34. River Flowers II, 2024 mixed media on paper, 53 x 43 cm

35. River Walk, 2022 mixed media on paper, 58 x 76 cm

36. Rhododendron, Hawthorn and Grasses, 2024 mixed media on paper, 38 x 28 cm

37. The Scottish Gallery Garden, 2024 mixed media on paper, 38 x 28 cm

38. Forest Cyclamen and Snowdrops, 2025 mixed media on paper, 21.5 x 21 cm

39. Japanese Roses, 2024 mixed media on paper, 44 x 54 cm

40. Hedgerow and Arriving Geese, Aberlady, 2023 mixed media on paper, 77 x 122 cm

41. Haddington, 2021 mixed media on paper, 28 x 38 cm

42. A Field of Poppies, 2021 mixed media on paper, 76 x 116 cm

43. East Lothian, 17th July, 2024 mixed media on paper, 28 x 38 cm

44. Poppies and Forget-me-not, 2021 mixed media on paper, 76 x 58 cm

45. Meadow Flowers, 2024 mixed media on paper, 58 x 58 cm

46. Summer Solstice, 2024 mixed media on paper, 58 x 76 cm

My paintings are like a diary but without words. Moments and feelings captured on canvas as words would fill a page.

47. 30th January, Aberlady, 2025 mixed media on paper, 29.5 x 28 cm

48. January Glow, 2025 mixed media on paper, 43 x 53 cm

49. Coastal Sea Buckthorn, 2025 mixed media on paper, 121 x 153 cm

50. Autumn Heather, 2021 mixed media on paper, 76 x 116 cm

51. Evening II, 2022 mixed media on paper, 28 x 38 cm

52. The Light Within, 2024 mixed media on canvas, 30 x 61 cm

53. Towards the Pentland Hills, 2025 mixed media on paper, 38 x 56 cm

54. Fragments of Light, 2022 mixed media on paper, 58 x 58 cm

55. Buckthorn, 2023 mixed media on paper, 28 x 38 cm

56. Lammermuir Hills, the Living Earth, 2025 mixed media on paper, 58 x 76 cm

57. Winter Sun Amongst Heather, 2021 mixed media on paper, 38 x 56 cm

58. Snowflakes Amongst Birch Trees, 2021 mixed media on paper, 38 x 56 cm

59. Light Through the Trees, 2024 mixed media on paper, 29 x 19 cm

60. Easter Haining Moon, 2024 mixed media on paper, 26 x 18.5 cm

61. Easter Haining, 2024 mixed media on paper, D40cm

62. Bluebells and Rapeseed, 2025 mixed media on paper, 79 x 57 cm

63. Bluebell Woodland, 2025 mixed media on paper, 56.5 x 76 cm

Pascale Rentsch (b.1975)

Pascale Rentsch was born in Switzerland and has lived in East Lothian, Scotland for many years. A passionate plein-air painter, she works directly in the landscape, capturing emotional responses to nature through instinctive mark-making and a deep connection to place.

Education

1997–2000 BA (Hons) Drawing and Painting, Edinburgh College of Art

1996–1997 Foundation Course, University of Brighton

1994–1996 Scientific Illustration, Zurich School of Art (HGKZ)

Selected Exhibitions

2025 The Living Earth, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

2024 Amongst the Trees, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

2023 Solo Exhibition, Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh (RSW Award)

2023 Summer Exhibition, Tatha Gallery, Fife

2022 Solo Exhibition, Watermark Gallery, Harrogate

2021 RSW 141st Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh

Ongoing: Exhibiting with The Scottish Gallery, Fidra Fine Art, Tolquhon Gallery, and others

Awards and Memberships

Elected Council Member, Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW), 2023

Elected Member, RSW, 2022

RSW Scottish Arts Club Award, 2021

Visual Artist & Craft Maker Award (VACMA), 2021

Isaac Howitt Art Teacher Award, University of Edinburgh

Society of Wildlife Artists Bursary, London

Residencies and Projects

This is My Voice, short film project (2021, part-funded by VACMA)

Conservation and education projects with SWLA and others

Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition:

Pascale Rentsch

The Living Earth 5 - 28 June 2025

Exhibition can be viewed online at: scottish-gallery.co.uk/pascalerentsch

ISBN: 978-1-917803-01-4

Designed and Produced by The Scottish Gallery

Printed by Pure Print Artist photographs by Glenda Rome

Front cover: Coastal Sea Buckthorn, 2025 (cat.49)

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