Tag: meldrum art

Categories
Plein air watercolor Watercolour

Painting plein air in the Stockholm autumn

Sandhamn

What a contrast to the week before. Then I was in Croatia enjoying warm and sunny conditions, on this day (last Monday) I took myself out to Sandhamn by ferry. Sandhamn is a popular harbour during the summer months but now in late autumn it’s empty.
It was a grey day, 7 degrees, rained from time to time and the wind gusted to 16m/s. It was important to somehow find shelter on the harbour. Thankfully I had a stool with me so I could keep a low profile behind some seating on the pier.

The highlight of the day was to go to the local pub/restaurant and eat freshly baked cod and drink a local beer.
It’s a short working day. The light started to fade around 3pm. I took the ferry back to Stockholm at 5pm, it was dark by then.

Categories
Plein air watercolor Watercolour

Painting on quarter sheets again.

Makarska

After two days of painting in a small format I took the step up to painting on a quarter-sheet ( 36.5 x 26.5 cm ). This is not a huge size or anything but for a person who hasn’t been well it’s a very big step. It feels really good to have my energy back or my mojo as I called it in yesterday’s post. I am now able to deal with the two hours or so it takes to complete a painting of this size.
I painted two watercolours a day for the rest of my time in Makarska. Not every watercolour was a success but I was happy enough with most of them.

Yesterday, I was back painting out in the archipelago here in Stockholm. Strong winds, 7 degrees, grey skies and rain from time to time. If I had the choice, I think I’d stay in the Mediterranean for the autumn. 😉

Makarska
Makarska
Makarska
Makarska
Makarska
Categories
Plein air sketching watercolor Watercolour

Painting in Croatia

Makarska, Croatia

I just spent a lovely week in Makarska, Croatia. I was painting non stop and getting as much autumn sun as I possibly could. It was an important trip for me. I feel that I have at last rediscovered my mojo after a number of bad years which are now behind me. I feel good, so nice to be painting at a level that feels rewarding. 

Makarska, Croatia
Makarska, Croatia
Makarska, Croatia
Makarska, Croatia
Makarska, Croatia
Makarska, Croatia
Makarska, Croatia

The first two days I painted in an *A5 format that I frequently use when out sketching. The first day I painted four and the next day I painted three watercolours. I just wandered around Makarska and found endless inspiration wherever I looked. The light was fantastic. I sat in the shade and didn´t shiver and I painted all day with just a break for lunch.

I will post more watercolours from the trip soon. I moved up to a larger quarter-sheet format, difficult in the beginning but I overcame the monster that was in my head. Poor self-confidence basically. 

I would recommend Croatia in the low season to anyone who wants to sketch outdoors and avoid the cold.

*17.5 x 12.5 cm

Categories
Video watercolour video youtube

I kept my mouth shut for this one

I visited Utö during the month of September to spend two days camping and painting. The island was so quiet, the evenings can be cool but if you are lucky you can still get a beautiful warm day.

This video has no dialog, instead I thought I’d let the sound of the lapping water and the beautiful view speak for themselves. The film is short, 7 minutes long.

I have included a description of the gear I used in the film down below. I hope you enjoy it, please do send me comments and let me know what you think – be it good or bad. You can support the making of these videos, visit my crowdfunding page, there you can follow my weekly vlogs, see bonus material, and even receive original watercolours as thanks. https://www.patreon.com/meldrumart

Here is a list of my most important watercolours that I use while sketching outdoors. In this watercolour I mostly used – Cobalt Blue, French Ultramarine, Verditer Blue, Jaune Brilliant No1, Yellow Ochre and Vandyke Brown. My easel is no longer for sale on Amazon unfortunately. My camping chair is a Swedish brand called Walkstool Comfort 45cm/18in. (www.walkstool.com). The hammock tent is by Hennessy 4 Season Expedition Zip. (https://eu.hennessyhammock.com/products/4season-expedition-zip)

While sketching I use a Winsor & Newton Field palette My watercolours (tube) :
– Holbein Titanium White
– Winsor & Newton Cadmium Yellow Pale
– Holbein Jaune Brilliant No1 .
-Winsor & Newton Naples Yellow
– Winsor & Newton Yellow Ochre
– Winsor & Newton Burnt Sienna
– Winsor & Newton Cadmium Orange
– Winsor & Newton Cadmium Red
– Daniel Smith Alizarin Crimson
– Winsor & Newton UltraMarine Violet
– Winsor & Newton Cobalt Blue
– Winsor & Newton French Ultra Marine
– Holbein Verditer Blue
– Winsor & Newton Cobalt Turquoise Light
– Holbien Vandyke Brown
– Winsor & Newton Neutral Tint.

The view from east Utö. September 2022
Categories
watercolor Watercolour

Painting plein air locally

Danvikshem

I try to be out in the Stockholm archipelago as much as possible. But sometimes the weather isn’t kind and I’m forced to stay home. This was the case last week when there was gale force wind with heavy rain. It wasn’t raining all the time though so I was able to nip out and paint a scene close to where I live.

The building I chose to paint is called Danvikshem, an Art Deco old folks home, it is a dominant feature on the local skyline. I sat myself down outside an apartment in Finnboda and had a go at capturing the scene.

Danvikshem
David’s easel
Danvikshem
David
Danvikshem
Danvikshem
Danvikshem

Categories
watercolor Watercolour

Painting in the wild

Calm in Nämdö

In the beginning of September I spent two days sketching on Nämdö which is an island in the Stockholm archipelago. I was with with an old friend. So nice to be to be in nature while most people are back in the office. The hunting season was in full swing though so we had to be careful in the woods not to be mistaken for deer. 😮

My sketches were 17.5 x 12.5 cm in size.

Camping on Nämdö
A quick sketch
Calm in Nämdö
Categories
Sketch sketching watercolor Watercolour

Four interpretations of the same scene

Watercolour #2

While out sailing in the archipelago we would sometimes take a day off and just hang in a beautiful spot. This would give me the opportunity to paint. The four watercolours here are of the same scene on Själbottna island painted over two days.

I realise that my first watercolour is usually rushed and therefore not so good. I guess it’s a necessary evil, a process to slow down and really see what is in front of me. The third watercolour was an attempt to capture the advent of rain and dark thunderous skies. Finally the last watercolour was painted the next morning just before we lifted anchor and sailed off in some direction I cannot remember.

The watercolours are 18 x 13cm in size and were painted on the 16/17th of July, 2022.

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Uncategorized

Revisiting my summer sailing adventure

We sailed to the NW of Åland close to the Finnish border during the month of July. It always feels pretty exposed there when the winds blow and it tends to blow often. There were a number of occasions when we had to shelter in small harbours which gave me the opportunity to do some watercolour painting.

I did this small sketch below when we were sheltering in Seglinge, it mentions on the back of the watercolour that the winds were 8-15 m/s and blowing from the north and that more favourable wind was coming the next day. Nice memories for sure.

Seglinge 17 x 13 cm

The main featured watercolour was started the same day ( 2021/07/22 ) but I ran out of time or maybe it was passion, who knows. Anyway, I finally finished it yesterday. I found the unfinished watercolour in a pile beside my desk, … my studio is such a mess I really need to clean the place. I gave the watercolour a grunge type feel, I wanted the painting to feel moody, atmospheric, something like that. I’m happy enough with the result but now it’s time to move on to the next watercolour. Have a nice weekend.

Click the thumbnail below for a full sized image.

Seglinge 36 x 26 cm
Categories
watercolor Watercolour

“Don’t paint pretty sunsets”, they said.

Sicilian sunset
Sicilian sunset

Wise painters stay away from pretty photographs of ocean sunsets. I know this is true as I tried years back and yes, I failed. The watercolour turned out to be cheesy, a classic motif to sell to tourists maybe but not a work of art that I was proud of. Nothing I would wish to show to others.

William Turner, he painted many sunsets, he had a certain attitude, he was a rebel, a hero to many, an inspiration to me.

I snapped an evening photo while sailing off the coast of Sicily, I thought to myself, this is not your typical sunset. So dramatic. It’s badass. I had a go at trying to capture the moment. 36 x 26 cm.

Click the thumbnail below for a full sized image.

Sicilian sunset
Sicilian sunset