A visit to Munkfors

Last monday I made a fieldtrip to Värmland with a little group of friends. We set off to see the permanent excebition in Munkfors by Lars Lerin. One of Swedens finest watercolorists. http://www.laxholmen.org/text_layout_2_T8_R2.htm

We had a great time studying his amazing paintings, had a little picknick and strolled around in the little community of Munkfors. This is one of many places in Sweden that thrived on the steel and ironproduction. These days it´s not so easy to get a job and many young people move away. I sat down and made some sketches around the old buildings.

In Lidköping

The last week it has been colder again which doesn´t exactly inspires to outdoor drawing. Last weekend my friend and fellow sketcher Annika drowe off to Lidköping for some fieldwork. This is a couple of scenes from this very idyllic town. The river divides it in two parts and there is a certain grandness about it.

This interior is from a café located in an old 17th or 16th century building. The way it´s furnished with old country pieces is very scandinavian, at least to me. We had a coffeebreak here but sadly there had been some shifting in the ownership so the menu and coffe was not as good as it has been. I´ll try Larssons skafferi the next time.

Friday and time for ice-cream at Elin´s

Friday we celebrated Swedens national holiday. I spent it at home in Hjo with some friends. We strolled down to the harbour and had some nice ice-cream at our ice-cream-restaurant "Aunt Elin´s. The view is kind of hard to beat. These days should be available on bottle for dark and cold winter days.

Late in the evening

Another sketch from the farm. I borrowed a bike from my sister-in-law and visited a friend thursday evening. These days we have the same temperatures as southern Spain so it was a lovely evening. When I got back at 10.30 am I captured this sight in the last minutes of daylight.

Waterline

Mornings and evenings are really the best times of the day to get out and sketch. This one was made the other day down in Hjo harbour while I was waiting for a meeting appointment. Not a bad way to spend an hour at all. And then the meeting was held in the beautiful garden of a café in town. I really love this time of the year. Even if it´s almost to hot to think outside the creativity is really bursting. Hope you all feel the same. In the sketch you can see the central parts of Hjo in the background. It´s nice with the variety in colors of the buildings.

Casa les Nyberg

This is the home of my friends, Lotta and Lars.They have this huge and almost parklike garden, even though they live in a town. They are very much involved in the preparations to help build a school in Colombia. A great project that will benefit some of the indian children of Amazonas. Keep up the good work!

The farm

For a week now I have been staying at the farm where I grew up. It doesn´t look the same these days and my brother is in charge not my father but it´s still very much home. The weather is so great and since the sun doesn´t sets until past 10 pm the evenings are pretty fantastic. I have been taking long biketours and walks just to be able to stay outdoor as long as possible.