meldrum art
I’ve started a new Sketchbook. I find it very useful when I take breaks from the watercolours that I am producing for my upcoming exhibition. To be able to just relax and sketch whatever for an hour is so beneficial when one is under pressure. I now start each artist day with a watercolour sketch to get me into the groove of painting.
Format: Moleskin 29.5 x 20.5 cm
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My Saturday life drawing is like a military boot-camp, we all feel totally exhausted after two hours of 1, 2 and 3 minute poses. I wasn’t in form this day so not much to show but I learned a lot which is more important than doing a nice sketch I think.
I forgot to publish this, I met with my Stockholm Urbansketcher friends at the Central Station on the 26th of February. We had great fun sketching, enjoying a chat and a coffee.
I haven’t gone to life drawing on a Tuesday evening for quite a while. I had such a bad watercolour day at home in my studio that I felt I had to go out and cheer myself up. It worked, it felt good to sketch and forget the day that was.
This painting is pretty cool I think. In real life it has impact but when it is published on the web it looses its power due to the wide format. It become small and hard so see detail, a 4 by 3 format suits Facebook and Google + so much better.
Anyway, I like this watercolour, it’s not my normal style, I don’t wish to continue on this route either, I want to be more like Chein Chung-Wei when I grow up 😉
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Monday evenings, a small group and I usually go to a pub in the old town after our life drawing session. It’s really nice to go through our drawings and show to each other or successes and failures.
Summer is coming soon, well I would at least like to think so. Looking forward to it when it does arrive. I am very happy with these wide scene formats I have been painting recently but they do present a problem, they look very small when I present them on Facebook or even here on my website. It’s a pity because they look real good framed and hanging on the wall. I am considering just showing a 4 by 3 version, cropping the watercolour to suit social media. Instagram is even worse, it is square!
Format: 37 x 12.5 cm
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This is the second of a series of paintings dedicated to the Folkbåt (people’s boat). I would love to own one but there is so much work each year maintaining it, I just don’t have the time or the passion for sanding and painting in the cold Swedish spring. I could buy a modern plastic one, they make them in Germany I believe but it’s not the same. It was better in the old days. Format: 69 x 24 cm.
The original reference photos and inspiration for my painting were taken by Finish photographer, Erik Lähteenmäki. You can visit his website here.
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Not much to say, it wasn’t my best day but that is life. One just has to make sure one has more ups than downs.
