meldrum art
We travelled to Gothenburg to visit my son and his family. The trip from Stockholm takes three and half hours, which gave me lots of time to do a few watercolour studies.
I plan to paint a series of paintings of chosen islands in the archipelago. Right now, I’m inspired by the landscape of Svartlöga, an island in the outer archipelago.
I met some other sketching friends during the weekend. We spent a lovely afternoon at Greta’s café which had a good view of the square on Hötorget. It’s in central Stockholm. Every Sunday there is a flea market. Lots of old stuff to buy or not to buy.
The format I paint in is quite small, 18 x 13 cm. This allows me to finish a sketch quickly. It is a good thing, because the object or person I am trying to capture has a habit of moving or disappearing totally.
I had a fun evening during the weekend meeting up with an old friend. We went sketching at the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities here in Stockholm. That’s the “Medelhavsmuseet” in Swedish.
I sketched the only bust in the place that didn’t have a broken nose. He wasn’t a very happy. He was a bit intimidating to be honest.
Later, we had a curry and a few beers. A great night.
Last Sunday, my sketching friends and I met up at Kulturhuset just off Sergels torg. It’s in the centre of Stockholm.
We were sitting in the large café on the 3rd floor. Some of us sat by the large windows looking down into the square. Plattan. The square gives you the urge to walk quickly through it. If you want, you can buy some drugs from the dealers in the shadows. You can also demonstrate against something that is unjust. There are no trees, no sign of nature anywhere, the wind bites.
The coffee, the carrot cake and the good company cheered me up a little. I was happy with the sketch too, it captured the moment.
Title: Plattan 17 x 13 cm.
Every autumn the canal on Djurgården here in Stockholm becomes spectacularly beautiful. I noticed that the left hand side of the composition was cool and the people were in the shade. The trees on the other side of the canal were flaming reds and yellows. I tried to capture it, the impression I feel when I visit each year. I’ll probably paint the scene a few more times until I feel satisfied. I think this is a good start though.
Djurgårdsbrunnskanalen 52 x 34 cm
Finally, finally, I have managed to complete the editing of this video. It was originally filmed in October 2023 on the island of Utö in the Stockholm archipelago. There was plenty of wind, rain and frustration. 
A wonderful day at the Natural History Museum in Stockholm with Daniel Luther . Daniel Luther
When the weather becomes too cold to paint outdoors, then museums are a great alternative. Ironically, one can’t escape the darkness, my headlamp helped.
This was the second and final painting of the day. It’s basically the view towards Finland from Sandhamn which lies in the Stockholm outer archipelago. The water was flat calm, and the colours were just beautiful as the sun set. The temperature dropped as it got dark, which was just after three o’clock. Nowhere was open on the island, so I sat on a bench and did my best to keep myself warm until the ferry came at five. I had a beer on the journey home, I felt I had earned it. 😁
I spent the day in Sandhamn on Monday. It was under 3 degrees all day. Challenging, especially trying to get the watercolours to dry. But luckily I had my heat gun with me. It takes a certain amount of practice not to burn the painting. This was the morning watercolour. I painted in the afternoon too. It was a great day, but pretty cold.
