Blog

Summer is the time when my husband and I travel to Sweden to spend time with family and friends. A summer without visiting the West Coast is no summer in my opinion. There is something special about the small old fishing villages, the white houses and the red boathouses. The fresh wind from the ocean, everything is so beautiful and peaceful. This year we decided to spend a week on the coast and I brought my watercolor stuff. I was determined to paint as much as I could. I sat the alarm clock at 5am every morning and I was out of the door shortly after having my breakfast. I painted in the early morning sun, when the shadows were so beautiful, by 8.30am the sun was so bright and the magical light was gone. A dip in the ocean, a cup of coffee and the morning was just as perfect as it could be. I painted one more painting in late afternoon, early evening when the shadows returned. I finished a total of ten watercolor paintings en Plein Air, outdoors on location, some of them as large as 1/2 sheet. Seven of the ten paintings are "keepers", not bad at all for five days of painting. There was a painting to be painted everywhere I turned, the inspiration was never ending. I usually knew the night before what the next day's subject would be as I planned my painting in my head the night before. We had a wonderful week, my husband went fishing on the cliffs and caught some Spanish Mackerels, family and friends came visiting and grandchildren built sand castles.

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog.

Lena

Looking out over the Island Astol while my painting has to dry.

The finished painting "Sunrise over the Fishing Village"

"Evening Shadows"

"Morning Breeze at the Swedish West Coast"