meldrum artHello, 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.
It’s episode number 14 and this time I am in Ploubazlanec in Brittany, France.
My wife grew up here and I am lucky enough to visit this magical place once a year. I always find it inspiring. While my wife spends time with her wonderful Mum I walk around Ploubazlanec and neighbouring Paimpol looking for something to paint. I have a lot of time to myself but I also find time to be social plus enjoying the local food and the great hospitality.
I hope you enjoy the video, comments are always appreciated.
Cheers,
David
With the help of my wife I gathered up all my watercolours and packed them into the car last night. It’s always a strange feeling coming to the end of something, be it a holiday abroad or an exhibition in Stockholm.
The exhibition was a success in many ways but to be honest I didn’t sell so many watercolours, enough to break even but no more than that. On the positive side though I really appreciated the words of encouragement I received from all the people who dropped by. Words of praise like, ‘you have developed so much in such a short time’ to ‘your art is at a real high level’ – this really charges my enthusiasm to keep on trying. One stroke at a time, a little better, a little wiser.
Right now, the way I feel is that I will not be having a solo exhibition anytime soon. I just want to focus on improving, I look forward to getting back into my routine of painting in the morning, I have many ideas on where I want to go with my art. That was one of the good things to come out of the exhibition, I had all my art from the last two years up on the walls, I had time to look and analyse them, to see which direction I would like to go. Some watercolours represented the old me where as a number show hints of where I am heading. Really exciting, I can’t wait to get back painting again. In that way, the exhibition was indeed a success.
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.
This watercolour demonstration was a real challenge because of frequent showers while painting. I was on the island of Björnö close to Stockholm a few weeks back and it was a wonderful day really because I learned a lot about my patience as an artist. It was also a day of discovery as I’d never been to the island before so it was fun cycling my trailer through woods and winding paths along the shore.
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I thought I’d just publish this as it’s featured in the latest watercolour demonstration video. It’s a painting of Riddarholmen in Stockholm. Click the link if you would like to see it:
https://youtu.be/WugTNgl-WG4
It was a real challenge this one. Showers of rain kept interrupting but I am happy with the end result and the decisions I made during the process of painting it.
I have gently launched a webshop which I am building when I have time. I have placed this watercolour and a few other in the store. My goal is to sell my art directly to the people who enjoy my work and not through galleries that take 50%. It’s work in progress so let me know if something is not working or if the design is weird etc.
Cheers!
This was the last sketch from our month-long sailing trip to Finland and Åland. I finished the painting yesterday but I actually painted most of it at Fiskö, on the 25th of July. I really miss being out sailing, it’s not as much fun sitting here in my Studio.
I actually am going to make a break for it tomorrow morning! I am going to camp on an island that I have been wanting to sketch for years. I’ll tell you more about that in a later post.
I was feeling unwell yesterday evening – but the day was beautiful and the Åland archipelago was so wonderful, I just had to paint it.
There was nothing going on, the evening was still and we had found a safe mooring for the night. I painted what was in front of me, it was lacking something so i added the figures. Now it is up to you to tell the story, I haven’t a clue, I’m just an artist 😉
Feeling lucky to be sailing in the Finnish archipelago. Right now we are on the island of Ekskär.
