My very first proper Studio day in 2011 didn't result in any major master piece,  but there are still 360 days to go...  Book by its Cover is going to publish Drawn in - a book featuring artist's sketchbooks and interviews (with among others my friend Camilla Engman). Of Fishes and Birds has a new exhibition in Utrecht. For you who can read Dutch.

Of Fishes and Birds in Meppel

Now the Of Fishes and Birds exhibition (where I participate) has opened in Meppel, the Netherlands. The exhibition is on until the 31th of December. You can read more about the exhibition and project here.

the power of repetition

Several of the same print is always very striking. I should be finished with the hand colouring by next week and will then update my website with them (if you are curious to see them all).

The first exhibition for of Fishes and Birds will open tomorrow in Scherpenzeel, Netherlands. I participate together with Klaartje Berkelmans, Caroline Ellerbeck, Gracia Haby, Francis Kilian, Kitty Kilian, Inge Koenen, Aris Moore, Juliana Salcedo and Titi Zaadnoordijk. Here you can see my prints for the travelling exhibition.

the book for "Of Fishes and Birds"

Even though I am on vacation, other people are still working ... Kitty Kilian has done a marvellous job putting together the harmonica book with our prints for the Fishes and Birds project. The first exhibition will be in August.

prints in the post

These are the screen prints I made for the project and travelling exhibition Of Fishes and Birds. As you can see I decided to be a bit more light-hearted than I normally am in my own art (commissioned art being something different).

The top one is to be in the harmonica book which is the main object in this collaboration. The other two prints are to be exhibited alongside with the book (together with the other artists' prints, of course!) in those exhibition venues where we will have more space. My prints are right now in the post and should arrive to Kitty Kilian in the Netherlands by Wednesday (according to the post office). The first exhibition is to be in August.

so 80's

the colours, the pose, the way the girl wears her hat

....it wasn't intentionally

yesterday

"You will get plenty of time for resting once you're dead"

That's one of the sayings from my father's part of the family from Småland. Småland is a part of Sweden where people are known to be hard working ... and careful with money. (Ingvar Kamprad, who is the man behind IKEA, is from Småland)

Yesterday I worked on my Fishes and Birds prints all day and then I started teaching my screen printing course at 17:00. When I left KKV at 21:00 there was that special smell of evening in spring - and I felt very tired and alive. The course goes on all weekend; I'll see if I manage to get any photos to post here of me in action teaching. One of my students tried to take photos today, but she said I just got all blurry because I didn't stay still!

In the left bottom corner you can see part of the sketch I made for the print

The first part of the bird has been printed

time for a decision

The first two days of this week I spent in my studio sketching and cutting papers like crazy to finally decide what I will make for the Fishes and Birds project. One print should be for the harmonica book which is the main idea for the travelling exhibition, but we should also preferably complement the book with more prints (under the same theme) - for those galleries where we will get more space. As a start we have already three booked exhibitions in the Netherlands for the project.

And - YES, I came to a decision and I will now make 3 screen prints!

cutting papers

today I was trying a new approach for the fishes and birds. In the end they all died ... and then there was suddenly also a little dead mammal - smiling. I'm not working the papers - they are working me!

I still really like Adam Saks, especially his water colours

two swallows

Tomorrow I'm off to my studio to work on my own stuff for the first time since the end of February. (that's why I've been so frustrated and angry lately) YES!

I have been trying to come up with some ideas for the Of Fishes and Birds project at home at night - but it's been impossible. I'm hoping the creative atmosphere in my studio - and the possibility to leave everything in a total mess - will help me to come up with some good ideas.

Talking about exciting collaborative projects - you haven't missed to order your deck of We are a Happy Family, have you? I'm impatiently waiting to get mine, cursing that volcano ...

to make you smile: Thomas Allen

Picasso

I call it Picasso ...

A sudden thought: maybe it could become a bird print for the Of Fishes and Birds Project?

Fish & Bird

not a good idea

I am going to participate in a small but fun exhibition (starting september 25th 2010) together with 9 other artists from the Netherlands, Spain, USA and Australia. Each artist will make a graphical work on the theme Of Fishes And Birds. The sheets will be made into one 10 page harmonica book, and the book will travel to different spots on earth... Do you want to know who are participating (you might know some of them)? Check our blog Of Fishes and Birds

Tomorrow I'm off to Lidköping (another town) to guest teach at the Pattern Design Program at Formakademin.