meldrum art
I have been a bit slow to publish here. These are my watercolours from this summer’s sailing trip. We did not sail so far this year. Just sailed with the wind, sometimes going south, other times sailing northward. We had a lovely three weeks in the archipelago anyway. It’s always beautiful there.
We sail a lot during the summer. The closer you are to Stockholm the more houses there are. For us it’s a warning, it means we need to keep sailing east for a few hours until we are in the outer archipelago.
I am delighted that I am actually painting in the studio during the winter months. My mental-health suffers badly at this time, especially these last few years. The situation has improved though. It’s not perfect, but I am able to function again thanks to professional help. It’s fantastic to be regularly painting again
I painted this watercolour from a photo I’d taken during the summer. It’s a bit of a cheat, the couple were never there. I think that’s called creative licence. I really do prefer to paint outdoors, to be in nature. It’s -8 celsius outside here in Stockholm, and it’s snowing. The studio feels pretty good right now.
36 x 26 cm
Click the image below if you would like to see the full sized watercolour.
I managed my first plein air for this year. I visited Björnö Nature Reserve, which is east of Stockholm on Ingarö. The temperature almost reached 6 degrees! I had to use a gas burner to dry the painting, and yes, there is a burn mark. It’s becoming my signature. But seriously, it was so nice to get out and sketch. I had to trek for an hour to reach the spot I painted from but it was worth it.
Here is my latest demonstration video on YouTube. I spent a whole month sailing around the Finnish and Åland archipelagos with my wife and two close friends. I spent lots of time sketching and taking reference photos for future use. While on the island of Ekskär in the Finnish archipelago I managed to do a demonstration painting which is featured here. The day was incredibly warm and the windbreaker I had behind me made it super hot because it stopped any breeze reaching me at all. It did protect me from the harmful sun rays though.
The painting was a real challenge in the end, I could not get into a comfortable position, I was sitting which I now realise isn’t ideal for doing demonstration paintings. Ah well, lesson learned – next time I will stand which will make filming so much easier.
I hope you enjoy the video, I am happy with it even if I seem to be moaning at bit. Ignore me and watch it, let me know what you think.
Cheers,
David
