ready steady GO!

The first time you are going to work in a new place is always a bit nervous. I normally spend a lot of time just moving things around postponing the FIRST TIME . The First Time normally tells me if this place is going to work for me immediately for painting - or if it is going to be one of those that need a little bit of wearing in. Like certain new shoes.

Today is a bit different first time - I'm working at home. I've had my own studio for painting (different ones though) since 1992.
OK.
Cross your fingers:

ready

steady

GO!

apple

today apple.
but tomorrow I will paint.

autumn

Today - after some hours in the park - I wished I had my mittens with me. The trees are still green, but there are definitely more brownish leaves on the ground.

For you who like graphic design or for you nostalgic ones: Present & Correct.

a day off

Sometimes you really need a day off. If you are lucky wonderful friends will invite you over to eat in the garden in the autumn sun.

We were lucky today.

not today either

Bedroom

Kitchen

No,
no painting today either.
Just writing application letters...
- and suddenly I realized I enjoyed it! (not writing the CV though, that asks not for creativity)
... not being too displeased with the result. (Swedish understatement = proud of my achievement)

keys

I've spent a very boring day reformulating my CV and rewriting and rewriting an application letter. I know I had to do it this week, but I just keep looking at my new materials (bought yesterday) - I want to paint. But being realistic I'll have to wait some days.

Danny Treacy
Helen Marshall

Anyone wondering who was my first blog encounter? She will always be my first and very special one.

3 patterns today

this was my day in three different patterns:


Pattern: "Pottery" by Stig Lindberg.
My bag (from Design House Stockholm) packed with London A-Z, water and lunch.


Pattern: stripes.
the chairs at Victoria Embankment Gardens. I ate my lunch here.


Pattern: dots
My blind date was...
... lovely Thereza. Thanks for showing me around and letting me know you! You were my second encounter via blogging. And even better than I could have hoped! Thereza, you might also enjoy the textiles by Josef Frank - you'll find many of his textiles here and here you can find other things.

Meeting generous people like Thereza makes me hopeful about the world. Anyone else out there? This also makes me happy: Bookcrossing.

walking in London

Today I walked and walked in London to get a better grip.
My shoes were nice - but new - my feet were sore.
I visited the PB Awards.
Boring.

Tomorrow I have kind of a blind date - I'm meeting a nice blogger at Covent Garden.

helping hand

we're back on the children's book project again. I borrowed some good children's books in the library to get some extra inspiration on the story. I've also been checking out the self-publishing places Lulu and Blurb for this project, but also because I need to print myself a portfolio. Any advice?

Tomorrow I'm leaving the suburbia to got to Central London and check some exhibits. I wish I had had the time to see Hammershøi at Royal Academy as famampa suggested me (last day yesterday) - but I couldn't make it.

afternoon sun

The walls in the new apartment are big even though the apartment is not. Almost three meters to the ceiling. To encourage me to paint bigger?

Camilla is moving to a new studio - I'm looking forward to see what she'll make of it - and in it.

Jack Duplock

tomorrow versus 2006

Sitting here cutting a little monkey (ape) for tomorrow (son has no preschool here in London yet) - A a as in "apa" (Swedish for monkey. Apes have no tail). Made me think of one of my paintings from 2006. It's called Aa (90x121 cm). I had those posters of the alphabet from school in mind when I painted it.

A - the beginning.

Old school

detail

...for those of you who wanted to get a closer look. Click on the picture to see it even bigger. The size of this painting is roughly 70 x 50 cm. I dream of painting much bigger in watercolour - at least 2 x 4 m - but that has to wait until I have solved it practically.

probably like this

I often work a long time on my paintings. This doesn't mean that I paint and paint and paint on them (can happen though), but that I reconsider them, look at them, let them rest until I know how they should be. Suddenly I might change them totally. This painting was already began in March.
I think I'll keep it like this.
Or I have this idea I might try on it.

Annie Kevans paints portraits in oil on paper. But things are not what they seem to be. Check out the little boys and what they are called.

on my table

My son found me a lost rose on the sidewalk and some friends gave us a really good wine (not for the son though).

Design for Mankind and art house launched the scavenger project yesterday - go and participate. I will!

a new page

So.
I start a new page.
And I do feel a bit empty.

But sometimes inspiration will come if you just start working. It's weird though; I have normally so many ideas that I can barely fall asleep.

harvest

I'm back.
But in London
The new apartment is fully furnished.
My art is on the wall.
Food in the fridge
Vegetables and fruits from the farmers market on the mantel piece
And today - finally: Internet (how could we once manage without?)

Thank you all for wishing me luck! Two comments on previous posts; the lovely Casmilla who gave me the sketchbook is of course Camilla (and the cover by her) - and the sketchbook is not my normal one, but the one for my children's book project.

a good book

Lalalala la
I'm still not here. I have probably no INTERNET.
Leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

BEEEP!

still not here

this is an automatically scheduled post. I'm not here at the moment, but feel free to leave a message after the beep.

BEEEEEP!

I'm not here

Hi, you've come to Alexandra Hedberg's blog. I'm not here at the moment as I'm getting settled in London. meanwhile You can check my sketchbook. I got it as a gift from Lovely Casmilla for easter...

flying away

finally it's happening: Tomorrow morning I'm flying to London to live there!

boxes

This is how much art supplies I'm bringing to London. It's taken some time to decide what to bring and some squeezing to get the stuff into the boxes. The boxes are not very big. I'm making a big effort to go for minimal and being organized. This doesn't come naturally for me though.
Yet.

seeing faces

I don't know if it was because I was tired or how it came - but yesterday I discovered a face in a little paper glued on the inside of my case for my glasses.

Had she always been there? I shaped her up with some few lines. She looks peaceful. I imagine she is looking after me, or at least my glasses.

smart thinking

In my latest KKV session I also took the time to make some more tiles (screen printed with special enamel screen printing colour). I liked the way they turned out - but it wasn't smart thinking. I can't take these with me to London because of the weight... I should have been making miniatures instead! And on paper.

photo and phlower

There is a big garden exhibit going on here in Gothenburg spread in different parks. The other week when we had fantastic weather I went there with my new camera and played around taking a lot of photos.

Frances Pelzman Liscio takes flower photos that look like old Dutch still lives

the triptych

so: the final result (click on the image to see it bigger). Each enamel is 40 x 50 cm


I also made three smaller versions with strong background colours (the other two were in yesterday's post), but they kind of loose the original idea and the subtle details.

a hard day's work

Sunday. I got up at 6 in the morning. It was a rainy day. I drove to KKV. My grandma's old radio played me a sad tune. I didn't make any masterpiece.

Maybe tomorrow?

how to apple pie

go out into your garden
pick roses and apples
the apples for the pie
the roses for eyes

flour, butter and brown sugar
be generous with cinnamon
let there be syrup everywhere

apple peal
dough in its place
a raisin going astray

many apples
cut in pieces
any style

apples
brown sugar
raisins
cinnamon
oven

How do you apple pie?

good advice

last night

... I prepared this one. I've almost finished using it now. Tomorrow I'll show you the result.

enamel preparation

I'm working on the third face (top photo) for an enamel triptych I'm planning to print and burn on Monday. The two other photos are the first two faces made in May. Making the third part of a triptych is very tricky . It's like ending a sentence - you can turn it all around by adding something different.

I sketch in black ink, but will print in blue. The idea is to get the look of blue china taking the advantage of the shiny surface of the enamel. Here you can see how I'll make it - I always rework the print by scraping and painting before burning it.

I'm back!

So after two weeks absence (I barely checked my mail twice) from internet - I'm back! Things turned out to take more time to arrange than I though...
I'm a time optimist, you see.

Loretta Lux - scary children, but oh sooo good.