Artist Tessa Simpson: I’m drawn to the mountains as my muse

Feel drawn to the mountains through the intricate and experimental artwork of Tessa Simpson.

Growing up in Cheshire with a dad who’d recount stories about his adventures in Glen Coe, Tessa Simpson had “a sense of nostalgia” for mountains long before she began hillwalking in Scotland. After going to art school in Edinburgh, this was made manifest when a friend took Tessa up Ben Lomond one windy September day she “spent beaming despite being battered by the elements.” Now 32 and a graphic designer who calls Glasgow home, Tessa is – as her social media pseudonym states – constantly drawn to the mountains. She seeks slow moments and profoundly personal experiences; whether dashing up The Cairnwell for a quick evening camp, skinny dipping after a hot day on Ben More Assynt, traversing Aonach Eagach, or getting caught in the elements on the side of Bidean Nam Bian.

Main image: Tessa drawing in the Cairngorms | Credit: Tessa Simpson

When taking commissions, Tessa particularly enjoys hearing the recalled adventures of others and capturing them on canvas. Indeed, for her, mountains are not only to be enjoyed solo. Upon exploring the new landscapes around Glasgow, Tessa and a friend started Mountain Burdz, a community for women to walk together. We spoke to Tessa as she travelled around New Zealand about her art practice, the topography of her favourite mountains, and the people who inspire her.

TGO: Can you share a foremost formative experiences in nature and how you recall feeing about being outdoors?

Tessa: The outdoors is a constant source of inspiration. The way light moves, the textures of the landscape, being awed by the drama of a particular mountain or ridgeline. Nature really has the power to stop you in your tracks, from the smallest little details to the biggest vistas, and I love being fully immersed in that. I think some of my foremost formative experiences of nature are often when I’m on a solo adventure. When I hiked the West Highland Way and walked into Glen Coe for the first time; when I was caught in the elements on the side of Bidean Nam Bian; when I swam in a waterfall on the descent down from Ben Hope. Those kinds of slower moments feel like profoundly personal experiences and foster a really strong connection to the landscape I’m exploring.

TGO: What ultimately drew you to the mountains of Scotland?

Tessa: When I was growing up, my Dad often recounted stories about his adventures and ‘epics’ that he had experienced with his father and friends in Glen Coe, so there was also a sense of nostalgia before I really started my own hiking adventures in Scotland. Then one day a friend took me hiking up Ben Lomond on a windy September day and I first learnt about the legendary list of munros. I spent the day beaming, despite being battered by the elements, and knew I had found something I wanted to spend more time doing.

When I moved to Glasgow I started exploring further and further north and quickly fell in love with the diversity of the landscapes I could find within a few hours drive. With dramatic west coast mountains and cliffs to the rolling layers of the Cairngorms, combined with the ever changing weather – you never really experience the same place twice. Funnily enough, it wasn’t until I no longer had access to those landscapes that I was first inspired to draw a mountain.

TGO: Do you have some personal Scottish mountain highlights – any treks or peaks or small moments that you cherish?

Tessa: Some of the classic epic mountain adventures of Scotland definitely feature on my highlights list; scrambling Liathach and An Teallach, climbing the North Buttress of Buachaille Etive Mor, sunset on the Cobbler summit, traversing the tops of Aonach Eagach on a perfect summer’s day. But some ‘smaller’ moments that stand out, like taking a friend on her first munro hike up the Loch Treig mountains in the snow! Or a dash up The Cairnwell for an evening summit and camp. Skinny dipping after a hot day on Ben More Assynt. So many moments!

TGO: Have you always been a creative person with charcoal in hand? If so, what subjects captured you before the mountains became your muse?!

Tessa: I’ve definitely always had a pencil or paintbrush in hand. It was my favourite thing to do as a kid, and all through school. I don’t think I had a particular muse at that stage, although figures, bodies and hands featured a lot. Whilst I studied Graphic Design at university, my drawing and art fell a bit by the wayside. I didn’t make time for it in the same way.

Then when 2020 came along, I found myself housebound and missing the outdoors like so many others. Immersing myself in the mountains through ink and charcoal drawings became how I found that connection instead. It felt like the first time I had crossed my creative side with my outdoors side, but from there everything flowed. As you said, I’ve found my muse!

TGO: Do you do much of your sketching and prep outside or do you prefer to work with reference material to ensure you’re getting every intricacy of the landscape?

Tessa: I love taking an experimental, changing approach to my creative process. Similar to the changing landscapes of Scotland; different mediums bring forward different aspects. My first pieces were created using ink, charcoal or watercolour – using reference images to capture detail intricately. Since then I’ve experimented with monoprinting and more abstract ink and pen pieces that are much more intuitive and made from memories or my own impressions of a place.

When I’m out and about with a sketchbook, pen and ink is best for capturing quick studies of the landscape. I enjoy the flexibility of moving between different mediums depending on how I’m feeling or the particular subject I might be trying to capture. Sometimes I want to work quickly and instinctively. Other times I look forward to descending into a state of engrossed focus and detail for hours at a time.

TGO: And how do the mountains as subjects – and the mountain-goers who commission you to create work to capture their special memories – continue to inspire you?

Tessa: Commissions are often my favourite way to create a detailed piece – hearing about the adventure or memory that sparked the idea for the commission always excites me and I love being able to translate that moment into a custom piece of art. The mountains themselves continue to inspire.

Now when I’m walking in the hills, I’ll be following the line of gully and considering how it would feel as a brush stroke or admiring a slab in relation to a smear on a monoprint plate. The landscapes lend themselves to this style of expression and art so easily, there’s always something to be inspired by. I feel the mountains still have so much to teach me in my own developing practice.

TGO: How did you come to build Mountain Burdz?

Tessa: I started Mountain Burdz with a friend when I first was exploring walks close to Glasgow. I was keen to find other women to hike with and felt creating a group on social media was a great way to meet other women interested in adventures. I’m so grateful for the friendships and connections that came my way through the group and looking back it was a key factor in sparking the idea to complete my Summer Mountain Leader training.

The group has been a bit dormant since I left Glasgow for a few years in 2020, but I’m hoping when I return from my adventures in New Zealand that I’ll have more time to dedicate to running events and hikes again!

TGO: For those local, what do Mountain Burdz offer and what do you personally hope the community can achieve for women outdoors?

Tessa: Mountain Burdz offers a community for women to explore hiking with other women. I found it really encouraged people who hadn’t previously had the experience or confidence to try walking in the hills by themselves. Often the groups would be made up of a mix of those who had never been up and munro and some who were well on their way to completion – a perfect way for women to learn from one another and build their own confidence.

I personally really love the experience of taking someone on their first munro summit – that sense of achievement and empowerment is infectious! In the future I would love to bring elements of the creative experience into those group hikes, whether it’s through sketching, photography, or poetry – I’m interested in investigating other ways of how we can explore the mountains through creativity.

TGO: You feature in the film Drawn to the Mountains. Can you tell us about the experience?

Tessa: After starting to share my work online, my super talented filmmaker friend Roxanna Barry reached out. They had an idea for a film that explored the idea of creativity in the outdoors and they wanted to feature me as an artist. Roxy pitched their idea and was awarded some funding through the Kendal x Kailas Mountain Spirit Film Grant, and we filmed it in February 2024. It was a brilliant project where Roxy invited me to collaborate on some animation as part of the film as well. I was so honoured that Roxy thought of me, and it was such an exciting experience to be part of! The film has been doing well at the festivals – recently winning the ‘Environment’ category at Femmes Et Montagnes!

Follow Tessa’s adventures @drawn.to.the.mountain on social media and online at www.drawntothemountain.co.uk.