I have lost this sketch somewhere and I'm sad because I love it. It's a study of a fountain that I can't remember where it's built or by who.

The male figure is really beautiful with its intricate muscles and proportions.

I couldn't get his profile right so I turned it slightly and I'm glad I did since I got to reenforce the tension with his expression. I was surprised though. I recognised his face and I searched on pinterest with keywords I thought would fit my memory and low and behold, I found it. My face is in my preference but I think they are similar.

 

Long time no see!

I should post more often but I forget I even have a blog. I rarely write about my art or its process but I really should do that, even though nobody reads my blog, haha!

I want to share I was part of an exhibition and I sold 4 paintings and later another painting through my boyfriend, who was so kind to show my art at his work. 

I have been part of another exhibition before but I chose to paint what somebody said they thought I should paint and I was desperate to earn some money, so I didn't paint what I wanted AND it showed in the quality of my paintings too. I take full responsibility for that. I will never paint something for the sake of what other people might want ever again. It obviously didn't work anyway.

Here is some photos from right before the opening.

I sold the abstract sun called "Sunflare", "The Girl" up to the right and the mother with her newborn called "Motherhood". I chose to not put up the man with the book "Nobel History" for sale at the last minute. I love it too much. Some people was interested in the upper left painting "The Hermit's Cave" but it was the most expensive.

Two people was interested in the lower painting "Trespassing" but they didn't act on it since I put a higher price on it. The paintings I sold was in the lower price range and honestly I was surprised anyone actually bought something based on Sweden's bad economy right now. The upper painting is called "Forest of Elderflowers" and I thought it would be more popular because it looks so realistic. I got a lot of praise for how detailed the deer's fur is but some of my other paintings made people stay and watch them for a longer time.

The one above is called "Evening's Empress" and the lower is called "A Jester's Patience". My boyfriend was nervous the lower was going to be sold because he loves it so much but it didn't. He bought it later haha but I'm giving it to him as a Christmas gift.

The one above is called "Guilt" and was in the higher price range too but I actually sold it. Somebody I know bought it and that makes me happy since I love the painting so much. The one beneath is called "Mare" as in the folklore of the creature sitting on you during nightmares. I actually wanted to call it "Psychotic Trip" because that was kind of what I was feeling when I painted it but it felt like a too dark and personal name to show to strangers.

Here is some of the paintings before I hung them up. I haven't seen several of my paintings framed together like this ever and I'm surprised how much better they look framed actually.

Unfortunately I didn't take a good photo of the last painting I sold. I forgot, since I hung it in a corner. It was a colorful tree with a witch hat on a branch and I was going to put a seriously low price on it but the others at the exhibition told me to put a higher price on it. Not only because they thought it was too good, they also said it can look, how do I say it, cheap and trashy is probably the best description, if I put a too low price on it. I agreed and I'm glad I did since I sold it.

This was a really great experience for me and I'm happy I chose to take part in this, especially since I felt like such a failure after the last exhibition. I'm going to take part of more exhibitions and join this organisation after New Year's. It will be a good way to go outside more and I really liked the people I met there. They get together and paint and try new painting techniques and have exhibitions and I'm looking forward to it!

I hope whoever who reads this will have a great evening!

Take care and don't forget the power of imagination and creativity. It is food for the soul.

Trespassing

    This painting took me weeks to finish, because I had to take so long breaks between the layers since I often felt lost and sometimes even wondered if I ruined it. Although, I thought of how I once heard someone say that there is an "ugly" layer with watercolors, that makes you unsure and feel lost. I call this the second layer *snort*. But I continued my work and tried to make the best I could instead of scrapping the painting. 

    This painting - Trespassing - is about a man forced to trespass on the giant lonebear's home that has claimed a mountain as its own. The man needs to find food for his family, since the colonists have started to cut down the forest that is his people's hunting ground. 

    My inspiration for the clothing is of native american and east-asian, but as you can tell, this is a fantasy world. The tree is called Sanguiz-tree and has bloodcoloured sap and is a key to the islands ecosystem. The bear is drawn without reference (like everything else) so there is some errors in the anatomy, as I've only done three studies of bears so far. I imagine it's a fantasy breed since it's so large and black.

    I used an inexpensive paper Canson Montval Torchin. Cheap but decent paper is a must for me to have when I feel pressure to perform. The paper has an interesting texture that is described as snow. I used graphite for the sketch, inked it with pigma microns and painted a layer of W&N waterproof indian ink to add shadows. I used my maaany watercolours (mostly DA) but also white and black gansai paint. At last I used colored pencils (Polychromos, Museum Aquarelle, Derwent Drawing, Luminance) for the details, which is a must for me since I have shaky hands. 

    I must add that I adore the sky. It was made with some of Schmincke's limited edition Supergranulating Tundra with a thin layer and afterwards Daniel Smith's Neutral Tint with a lot of water and I pressed it with tissuepapers while it was still wet. 

Morten E. Solberg

    Morten E. Solberg is a fineart artist who was born is Cleveland, Ohio and got an education in Cleveland Institute Of Art. He is famous internationally for his paintings that range from realism to total abstraction. He paints with watercolour, acrylics and oils. 

    Personally, I'm in love with his watercolour paintings of realistic animals with abstract backgrounds. Since he is alive I won't share his work directly on my page, but I will share a link directly to his website, just for your convenience. 

    I also recommend searching google on the large settings to really get a close up view of all of the beautiful details. I do not however support to save them since there is a copyright issue.

Here is the link to his website: http://www.mortenesolberg.com/ 

STAINING WATERCOLOUR Paints

Staining colours isn't my favorites to work with... at all. Still, I have almost every hue of phthalo I can find. I like to mix them in natural, muted colours when I want to see some vibrant spark amidst it all.

Arthur's Journal (RDR2)

     I'm obsessed with Red Dead Redemption 2. I used to visit a place about 80km up north-west from where I live in Sweden. In a place calleed Surnadal, in Norway. I used to fish in a river, although I found that a little boring I loved the view. However, I loved fishing out on the fjords. I loved playing on the shores, with gray mud and brown and green seaweed... white chalk beaches with stones that hurt my feet, but that didn't matter. I was in a valley of fields and forests, or on a mountain of waterfalls and moss. This is why I love this game - Red Dead Redemption 2. It gives some comfort, meaning it reminds me of my childhood's (and adulthood's) favorite place. 

    Surnadal is one of the main sources of my inspiration for art. The game RDR2 helps me relive that. The main character also draws in a journal. This is why I share this information - art. 

    This is some of the main character's art in his journal. I love it, but if I sketched this loose I would be hesitant to share it. That is wrong of me. Loose sketching is wonderful. This is why I share this.

All credits goes to R* of course, but also to this reddit poster.

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddeadredemption/comments/buxjuv/completed_arthurs_journal_pdf_and_zip/