Dear readers, here is one of the paintings you could read about in my early February (2010) newsletter. The changes have been made, and it is finished. This is one of the main bridges in Stockholm, Sweden, connecting the northern parts of the city with the southern parts spanning the Lake Mälaren which bisects Stockholm.

I was attracted to the light (no surprise there!) as it painted parts of the bridge in gold, making the struts resemble a giant harp vibrating a melody of sparkling dripping light.

In the below composite image, I show how it grew forth, from a rough underpainting where the major masses were blocked in, to the finished painting. Paper is ArtSpectrum Colourfix, and pastels are mostly Unisons, with a finishing highlight or two of Schmincke:



Click here to see a large version of the painting.

Flooded meadow encased in ice. The waterlevel should be behind the boathouse.

Stockholm, Sweden, has a wonderful large park. Nestled in between the trees behind Skansen is a royal summer palace, Rosendal, with its garden. The garden is now a nursery, both commercial and with the aim to preserve old varieties of roses and other flowers. The café has delicious cookies and other edibles. Spending some time there with a friend in late summer, I'd brought my "Plein Air Stealth Kit", and sat on a bench painting a small quick sketch of the Orangerie:



The building is very beautiful, and while this plein air sketch isn't going to make art history, I used it as the basis for the studio work at the top of this blog post, the Rosendal's Orangerie. (Satellite image http://kartor.eniro.se/m/Mvblq, right under the blue line, a bit lower on the image.)I chose another angle, with a field with rows upon rows of mostly yellow flowers, with a row of red ones just before my feet. Being "colour-starved" in bleak midwinter, I escaped to this warm golden day.

See a large version of the studio painting here.

If you want this painting, you'll get the sketch too, included.

Being at the opening of a show is important, and I had quite and adventure going there. I was all "dolled up" and ready to roar, and the car decided to refuse to start that particular morning... What to do, when the venue was on the other side of town, and there was the opening ceremony one couldn't miss? Luckily, the neighbour was just going into town, so I hitched a ride, left Hubby with the car to charge the battery. Found a taxi, and it got me there just in time.

After a speach by the boss of the place, Ricardo Donoso (in smaller picture below), and before another by a local politician, they asked all the artists to step up to the front, and tell our names and where our paintings were hung. (Yours truly in red, with green scarf, listening to politician. Funnily, the only other person not dressed in black happened to stand next to me.)



Ah, an opportunity to tote the horn for pastels! So when it was my turn, I projected my voice (choir practice), and said: "Hi, my name is Charlie, and I paint in Soft Pastels in one of the impressionist techniques, and it hangs over there." A CV in just one sentence, and promoting soft pastels too! Economical.

The opening day had many visitors, the next shots were taken towards the end of the day, when there was room to take pictures.



And to my joy, the painting is reserved for a collector!

Having spent 3 weeks on exhibiting, writing, and other 'stuff', both art-related and not, I could no longer hold back the urge to paint.

The short and oh-so-glorious time when the leaves blazes in the landscape, a country road, wind rustling the leaves, the sun golden and still warm on your cheek. Just a few days later, the leaves will have blown off, the sky be cloudy, but this golden moment captured in sparkling pastel will stay forever and warm the heart.

See a larger version of the painting by clicking here.

Reference photo courtesy of Tatiana Myers.

Den här tavlan är antagen till en jurybedömd uställning i Edsvik Konsthall perioden 22 november till 6 december. Vernissage den 22 november. Till salu på utställningen, 4000:-  För info och hitta dit, klicka här  och du kommer till Edsviks hemsida. Om du redan har en tavla målad av mig, så vet att det här är ett stort steg mot att du gjorde en klok investering. Att komma med in den här utställningen är ett viktigt erkännande! Plötsligt står jag ett par steg högre upp i Konstvärdlens Trappa.

The title of this painting is from an Simon & Garfunkle song, the one that makes you feel grooooo-vy. Coming back into the studio after a break, I thought "Hello Lamppost", and then the song looped inside my skull for three whole days. The location is in my home town, Stockholm, in Sweden. 

This painting, With a View, is painted with the relatively new type of super soft pastel that doesn't come as a stick, but in a pan, looking much like a large eyeshadow pan. It is developed by an artist, and you can read more about them at the PanPastel site.

Danaë was a princess in Greek mythology, who was visited by Zeus taking the shape of a golden rain. A much painted motive, and my personal favourite is Rembrandt's version. My painting is based on a ref photo by Marcus J Ranum, with permission of course.

The medieval 'kernel' of Stockholm -- the Old Town -- also called The City Between Bridges, is on a rather small island controlling the entrance to lake Mälaren. The modern Stockholm is built on the shores north and south of the Old Town, as the city has sprawled since the 1200s. This street, Storkyrkobrinken, is one of the oldest, and it leads to the Luteran cathedral and the Royal Palace, which are right behind us as we look down the sloping street. Many of the beautiful old buildings are ochre, orange, earth red, and other colours, partially why I (local patriot!) regard Stockholm as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.