Yeap, I wasn’t totally happy with this watercolour so I was forced to chop it up so that I could enjoy it. I’m a happy butcher now. It’s best to love a whole painting of course but sometimes one has to be brutal.
Click the thumbnail below to see the full sized image.
Category: Uncategorized
This painting which I painted last year has been chosen for a winter exhibition in Nacka Konsthall, Sickla – not far from the centre of Stockholm. It’s very pleasing of course and I look forward to the opening of the exhibition on the 23rd of November. The painting which was chosen is called, Gröna Lund and is 70 x 50 cm in size.
The painting has travelled a lot, it was in the ECWS exhibition in Haapsalu, Estonia during the summer. It’s always an honour to represent Sweden in these European Watercolour Society exhibitions.
The painting is for sale, 7500 sek or 5000 sek unframed.
The opening of the Exhibition is Saturday 23rd of November at 13.00
The exhibition is from the 23 rd of November until the 12th of January 2020.
Nacka Konsthall
Dieselverkstaden,
Marcusplatsen 17
131 34 Nacka
Tel: +46 (0)8 718 82 90
Click the thumbnail below if you want to see a larger image.
Since I came back to Stockholm after the summer break I have been making sure I go to life drawing classes at least once a week. As I have mentioned before it is so important to sketch regularly, everyday if possible. Life drawing is a wonderful way to practice drawing from real life, I also like to push myself and paint. These sketches are either 2 or 5 minute, not much time to think so everything has to be instinctive, you can only achieve this through hours of practice.
I use a plastic airlines plate with a watercolour cup stuck in the middle of it with Super Glue, I have Sepia tube colour in the cup. Choosing which watercolour to use is made easy this way, I have only the one choice.
Revisiting Randazzo Sicily
Yes, I had a wonderful holiday in Sicily this summer. It seems so long ago now, especially now that the autumn leaves have fallen and the bare trees are almost black in tone.
I paint every morning and so I often browse through my photo reference folder which is full of potential watercolour scenes. And so it was with this scene, it just said hello to me and I started painting it. I never know what I am going to paint before I start, it’s interesting how we get inspired, it can be different everyday.
I am happy with this watercolour, I seem to have found a new awareness on how to tackle a scene, it excites me and I want to just paint more scenes, isn’t life great! 🙂
Click the thumbnail image below if you would like to see it in full-size.
Featured in my latest video
This watercolour was filmed when I visited Gålö, a nature reserve just south of Stockholm. It was a damp autumn day and I had to use my gas burner to get the watercolour dry. It was such a beautiful place so I didn’t mind the fight. To see the film click the this YouTube link: https://youtu.be/Xbmed57s_UE
(Click the thumbnail below to see full-sized image.)
I play with fire in this episode
Hello, I visited Gålö a few weeks back and painted in sometimes challenging circumstances which demanded drastic action. I don’t how many watercolour artists use a blow torch to dry their work but I do, when it’s just not going to dry.
All in all it was a fun day, I just love painting outdoors.
Summer, I miss you.
To be fair, we are having a beautiful week here in Stockholm, it could be summer, it feels like summer on the skin, the sun is so warm – I have to take my jacket off but I don’t put it down. No , I don’t trust this little bubble, I feel it will burst at any moment. We are heading into autumn and soon the trees will be a fantastic orange and I will suffer from SAD which I successfully deal with through light-therapy.
Heading home
Yesterday evening we were in Fiskö, east of Åland in the Baltic sea. This morning we turned around and started our long journey home to Stockholm. We are cruising, so we still have nearly a week left to enjoy this beautiful archipelago and Stockholm’s too.
This watercolour was painted yesterday evening while the sun was slowly setting in the harbour at Fiskö. The fishing boat hasn’t moved for years, I’d guess about 20 or even more but I chose to add a fisherman to make the scene more alive. I finished the last 10% of the painting this morning, no better way to start the day than with a strong coffee in one hand and a sable brush in the other.
Title: Fisherman in Fiskö, 36 x 26 cm
Painting in the rain
We are sailing to Finland from Stockholm but the weather is pretty awful so we have to shelter from the strong winds often. We spent 2 days in Degerby in Åland. It’s easier to paint on land so being forced to seek shelter isn’t so bad. It’s a pity it’s cold and raining but I found a roof to stand under while I painted.