Loïs is shortlisted to decorate the Glasgow 2026 King's Baton

April 13, 2026 • 4 Comments

"Very excited and humbled to share that I'm one of 4 artists shortlisted to decorate the King's baton for the #KingsBatonRelay #Glasgow2026 #CommonwealthGames - wish me luck! :) "

#TeamScotland
#Scotland #Glasgow #sports #speedpainting

Update, 28th April:

Sad to say that my design was not selected, but it was a great honour to have this opportunity to put forward a proposal. My unsuccessful design submission (painted by hand, actual size, on a flat wood panel) is shown below. The brief video demonstrates the extremely intricate detail. The word 'gather' appears on each side in Celtic style lettering, referencing the word as it appears in the King's speech for the opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The baton measures 47 cm, hence it presented a unique challenge to condense Scotland and its sports into such a small surface area. My design for the three-sided baton used the shapes of the lettering to frame some of the numerous elements, referencing Scotland's culture, heritage, wildlife, history and languages as well as its contributions to literature, arts, craft, science, medicine, technology, industry, emergency services and sports. I consider every element of the design as a storytelling prompt. I used acrylic paint very sparingly, along with coloured pencils and acrylic markers to achieve the finest detail.

Below: with centimetre rule, for scale

National Tartan of Scotland - St Andrews, Links Golf Course - the Kelpies - Dark skies, Aurora Borealis, Callanish standing stones - Frederick Douglass

Capercaillie - Pictish Symbol - Morse Code "gather" - Baton Runners - Golden Eagle
Frederick Douglass - Puffin - Scottish Wildcat - Heather - Annie Lenox - Alexander Graham Bell, 150 years of the Telephone - Penicillin - Whisky Barrels - Dolly the Sheep - Encyclopedia Britannica - Red Squirrel - Scots Pine

Whisky Barrels - Dolly the Sheep - Encyclopedia Britannica - Red Squirrel - Scots Pine -
Sir Walter Scott - the Highlands - Mairi Chisholm, WW1 Ambulance

Celtic Knotwork - Highland Cattle
Scone Palace - James Clerk Maxwell - Eilean Donan - Mary Queen of Scots

Highland Cattle - Athletics - Highland Games - Cycling
Mary Queen of Scots - Greyfriars Bobby - Stag - Robbie Burns - Wee Sleekit Mouse - James Watt - Kingfisher - Glasgow Shipbuilders statue - Javelin Thrower - Thistle - Piper (kindly modelled by David Nelson)

Cycling - Sanquhar Pattern
Javelin Thrower - Thistle - Piper (kindly modelled by David Nelson) - Elsie Inglis - National Monument of Scotland - Early Motorised Fire-engine

Paisley Pattern - Basketball
Riverside Maritime Museum, Glasgow - Nancy Riach - Kelvingrove Art Gallery - Duke of Wellington statue with traffic cones

Basketball - Parasports
Duke of Wellington statue with traffic cones - Jackie Stewart, F1 - Macintosh stained glass - John Logie Baird, 100 years of Television - Scotty Dog - Weightlifter - Tennis - Salmon - Macintosh Chair - Commonwealth Flag - Spiders Web referencing Robert the Bruce - William Wallace

Parasports - World Time Zones
Tennis - Salmon - Macintosh Chair - Commonwealth Flag - Spiders Web referencing Robert the Bruce - William Wallace - Ash leaves, referencing the wood of which the baton is made - Rainbow (referencing Scottish weather, diversity, etc.) - Glasgow Science Museum - Postmark including date of opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games 2026 - Postage Stamp, referencing Scottish invention of adhesive postage stamps

The three languages of Scotland: English, Scots and Gaelic: 'gather'

Close-ups: