Blue hortensia/hydrangea

I walked by a little blue hortensia/hydrangea at the shop one of the last days, and I had to buy it and bring it home to paint. I think the painting became a bit too `heavy`, so I will give it another try. Now - I have a ten year perspective to try to develop my watercolour skills! - so it will be exciting to see where I have arrived at ten years from now.  The way these hortensias have been painted is very much inspired by the style of Jean Haines; I am not aiming for a replica of what I see, but rather a more subtle expression of the object.

Today, I went to the Henie Onstad art center just outside Oslo. There I saw - to mee - an almost breathtaking piece of art by Tiina Kivinen - take a look: http://www.taidegraafikot.fi/images/kivinen_ala.jpg  This photo does not pay justice to how it is to see this artwork in real life. Take also a look at http://www.tiinakivinen.com to see more of her art. I find her work very poetic.

Hortensia

A new hortensia portrait today. But in a somewhat different and more loose style than yesterday.

Watercolour hortensia

I have now started to paint hortensias. I have never paid any attention to this flower before, despite me loving flowers and gardens. But I now `see` this flower in a new way and I just had to try to paint it!

Summer nude

Another watercolour nude. I think I will check out if there are any croquis sessions here in Oslo in July as such sketches are very inspiring. And not least, it is a very valuable excersice that remind the eye and the hand to leave out details and instead focus on the main shapes. I don`t draw the shadows in my croquis` , only the outlines, so I have to make up the shadows when I try to paint the figures afterwards.

I have now picked a hortensia from the backyard, so the next post will perhaps be a flower portrait. Nudes and flowers in blossom - quite suitable for a summer holiday feeling!

Watercolour figures

I am really appealled of the nakedness of humans - the persons I love the most are those who do not put up a face but who are naked, honest, vulnerable. Perhaps that is also the reason I am very attracted to croquis and painting nudes. There is a while now since last, but yesterday and today I picked up some croquis sketches and I enjoy exploring the different postures in watercolours.

Summer holiday has started

A couple of watercolour sketches of my croquis drawings. I have now started my four week long summer holiday- jippi! - and I hope I will be able to paint a lot during these weeks. 

This is an example of how to paint the negative shapes rather than the object itself in order to make a motive stand out, and is an exercise from Jean Haines latest book.