meldrum art
I am currently sailing to Finland with my wife and another couple. The weather is cool and the winds blow with attitude from the north. Each morning it is just over 10 degrees, it’s humid and the sky is mostly grey. …..But yesterday was an exception, it was a lovely sunny morning for at least 3 hours!
We had been seeking protection from the strong winds in Rödhamn, Åland. It’s a beautiful little harbour.
As I mentioned in the last post, we are having amazing weather here in Stockholm. It’s totally inspiring and all I want to do is paint and sail. So this weekend that’s what I am doing!
Watercolour 36 x 29 cm
It seemed to be a name that suited. Both my wife and I are in agreement, Aquarelle is the name of our boat that we bought last summer. It was launched into the cold Baltic yesterday but the day was so sunny and perfect. A good sign for great sailing in 2018!
Info: The boat is a Sveakryssare 36 from 1975. 11.04 x 2.44m. Link to Swedish site, http://www.sveakryssare.se
I love the design of these scandinavian pearls called Nordic Folkboats.
A friend of mine owned one and I sailed it a number of times, it is a beautiful boat to sail, the only negative was that it felt cramped when camping out in the archipelago. I painted these two sketches in my Moleskin journal (29 x 21 cm). Special thanks to Erik Lähteenmäki for the inspiring reference photos of a Folkboat regatta in Finland.
I plan to paint a few large format watercolours featuring these classic boats in the coming weeks.
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 😉
Please click the image below if you would like to see a larger image.
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
Click image below to see larger version.
People here in Stockholm like my paintings of sailing boats in the archipelago, they sell very easily so I’d be stupid not to continue creating them. This painting is interesting as it is in a wide format which suits paintings of the great outdoors a lot.
Format: 52 x 13 cm
Click the image below to see larger version
I painted this watercolour in the beginning of November last year. I never took a decent picture of it as it was so dark back then and I was in rush to get it framed for the exhibition I had in early December. It was sold and I miss it really, I didn’t have time to enjoy it. They are like little children, very dear to the heart at least the ones that shine. I’ll just have to paint a replacement so I can forget it, larger maybe this time.
The watercolour was painted after my course with Chien Chung-Wei, it shows I think, my brushwork is more daring and the composition is well thought through.
Please click the image here if you would like to see a larger version of the painting.
