meldrum art
I am visiting my mother in Norther Ireland at the moment. The other day I borrowed her car and drove to Groomsport, a small town close to Bangor where I am staying. I sat in the passenger seat of the car and painted this sketch. I am fascinated by the sky here in Ireland, it changes so quickly and can be so dramatic.
I painted in my current favourite sketchbook which has Saunders paper and is 38 x 28 cm in size.
Click image below for full sized photo
The other week I had my first watercolour demonstration. I was honoured to be asked by the ATG Art Society here in Stockholm. It was a small group that I painted for but for me it was a perfect start to something that might develop in the future.
I still see myself as a student so it is amusing when others ask me to show how I paint.
Urban Sketching is just so much fun. This month we visited Lilla Wien which I have walked past everyday going to work and never once thought, “Oh, I must visit that pub!”. Every Sunday it seems, elderly jazz fans gather to listen to live music and to dance. They really looked like they were enjoying themselves.
I sat down at the long table that was reserved for us sketchers, I wasn’t facing the band but instead I had a good view of the bar. I am reasonably happy with the watercolour sketch, it would have been nicer if I had fewer hard edges. The bottles behind the bartender should have been out of focus, also the light on his shoulders should have been soft too.
I am having a lot of fun playing with light and shadow right now. These two photos show a little of the technique I use. It’s sketched on Moleskin watercolour paper which really sucks because it doesn’t if you know what I mean. It doesn’t matter though, I use the sketchbook for learning porpoises.
Today, I cycled around Stockholm for hours taking pictures of buildings in the autumn sunlight. I think the more technique you learn the more interesting watercolour becomes. I am totally fascinated by it.
The name of the square is called Stortorget, the big square. Not much imagination was used in giving it a name.
Anyway, I am trying to find a way of painting it. I have used a typical tourist picture as reference and I have tried to make it interesting from a watercolour point of view. It’s a sketch, so it has lots of faults but I think I am moving in the right direction, even if it is painfully slow.
Looking at it now, I find it is a pity I followed the bright colours of the reference photo, it would have better if the colours were more dampened in tone. Yeah, yeah, the journey of improvement continues…
Watercolour sketchbook Saunders Waterford 28 x 19.
Buildings are a bunch of boxes, straight lines and a few curves, rigid things that demand to be stiff and upright. I am trying to create an impression of what I see – to this point I have failed every time. I enjoy the challenge though, trying to find what is missing.
Sunday was a rainy day here in Stockholm so I stayed in my studio and played with my GoPro camera. I filmed myself painting a sketch in my Moleskin journal. I have an ambition to publish films of my painting process to help others learn from the knowledge that I have gained since I started in 2012. I need to learn how to edit film, next weeks project I guess.
Hopefully I have something to show real soon…
Cerold Johansson who is responsible for art acquisition at the Nordic Watercolour Museum has bought one of my paintings! It arrived safely today with the glass still intact. To say that I am happy would be a bit of an understatement ?
https://www.akvarellmuseet.org/
https://www.akvarellmuseet.org/en/about-the-museum
I am proud to have been choosen by the Nordic Watercolour Society to particapate in the 20th ECWS* exhibition in Salamanca, Spain. The exhibition continues until the 27th of October 2017.
Thanks to Peter Reuterberg for the photographs.
*European Confederation of Watercolour Societies
