meldrum art
Yeap, they say, paint what you love. I’m really looking forward to the summer season. I want to camp and sail. To paint plein air from morning till night. To be in the archipelago. To enjoy the constant light.
This is one of my first studio paintings since 2019. Kinda had to believe, but it’s true. My seasonal depression has prevented me until now. I painted last week and I added a few more islands to it yesterday. I’m happy with it. So nice to be painting during the winter months again. 🙂
Last week I painted three watercolours. Initially, I was really happy with all of them but after a while I gradually changed my mind.
I had just finished reading a lovely book about Edward Seago by James Russell. Seago was an excellent English watercolour artist that was very successful in his lifetime but was disliked by the critics. “He painted picture-postcards” a critic once said.
He was a landscape painter, he painted the countryside around him. A typical watercolour would be of a summer-blue sky, rolling hills and shadows dancing on the fields while animals grazed. He liked sailing boats too so you can understand that he inspires me a lot. His watercolours were very pleasing to the eye.
So this is the question, should I worry about my watercolours looking like picture-postcards? Maybe I should paint more watercolours like the one featured here. I painted it to counteract the three pretty watercolours. It’s of Poolbeg Power Station in Dublin Bay, Ireland. A quick sketch (30mins) 28x18cm.
Your thoughts please. 🙂
In the beginning of the week I took the ferry on a short trip across the water to Djurgården here in Stockholm. I wheeled my art gear behind me and looked for an inspirational spot to paint from. In the end it was the weather that decided. I needed protection from the strong easterly wind which was making 7 degrees feel really unpleasant.
The day’s subject became some oil storage tanks on the other side of the water. I was more interested in the sky but I needed a point of focus for the sake of the composition.
The finished watercolour may not be a masterpiece but for me just getting out and painting was the biggest achievement of the day.
Have a nice weekend.
Cheers 🙂
I just published my latest video:
Painting outdoors in the autumn Ep35
I painted the other week on Beckholmen, Stockholm. The view is of Danvikshem which is very close to where I live. Size: 26 x 36 cm.
I mentioned in my last post that I used a gas burner for 10 minutes to dry my watercolour. For the second painting I used a different approach. I left a lot of the paper white, I didn’t paint over the whole surface in other words. I thought this approach worked really well and I will doing this again for sure.
The light started to fade around 3pm so I packed up my gear and made my way home. Another fulfilling day in nature was had. Funny the positive effect it has on me being outdoors. I guess it’s the same for everyone. Anyway, I love it, whatever the conditions. 😃
Last Wednesday I visited Björnö nature reserve. It was a very damp and grey day which is totally normal for this time of year in Stockholm.
For my health’s sake, my current mission is to be outdoors as much as possible. I recently acquired a fisherman’s tent to protect myself from the elements while painting. It works really well especially the way it protected me from the wind. Even a light breeze can be very tiring while spending a whole day painting in damp, cool conditions.
I managed two watercolours, the first of which is featured here I used a lot of water so that I could mimic the misty view that was in front of me. The only problem about doing this in 100% humidity is that it never dries. Thankfully I had my trusty gas burner, it took 10 minutes to dry the cotton paper!
For the second painting I used a different approach, less water, but more about this in my next post. I had a great day, I really feel very lucky to have this this kind of lifestyle, to be more or less free to choose what to do with my day. Recommended 😃
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.