A perfect Sunday

Last Sunday was just the perfect day for staying at home. And what a perfect way to start the day, after a 30 min Yoga practice, with some painting and a fairy tale. There's a whole series of Grimm's fairy tales made by German television in the past few years, and I recently discovered that you can watch most of them online on their website.

My pile of 25x25 squares is slowly growing. I've already finished six of them, which is twice as much as the one-a-week I had planned to do. But then I'm sure there'll be weeks when I won't be able to paint one at all. And in the end, it doesn't really matter how many I do anyway. The point is to practice. They're like sketchbook pages. Not really finished pieces, although, of course, they can be that too. More or less finished, with sometimes just a a few charcoal sketches and nothing else.

And while I was adding some snowflakes to my paiting, outside, it was snowing too.

Unfortunately, it is already getting warmer again, and the snow is quickly melting away. And next week, the temperatures are going up even more again, well over 0 degrees. What a mad winter.

No expectations, no pressure, just fun and play

New year, new goals, dreams, intentions. One of them is to blog more often, and here we are, already a week into the new year, and I haven't posted anything until today. But I'm also keeping one of my biggest intentions in mind, that of letting go of expectations, of the pressure I tend to put myself under. In life, in my art, in everything. And instead to just do the job, as good as I can.

I want to spend a lot more time in my studio this year, and to figure out where I want to go with my art. But most of all to just paint. Without expectations. And to help me take the pressure off things, I've come up with a little project or challenge for myself. A little 25x25cm painting on paper, just to explore, experiment and learn. One a week. Of course it can be more than just one a week, and it's not the only thing I want to do, but - no pressure. Last weekend I did the first one. She turned out a lot more pink than I expected, but that's alright too. After all, the whole point of this exercise is to let go and have fun. A pure practice and learning experience.

I've been reading a lot of complaints on social media about the weather some are experiencing at the moment - cold and snow. And how they feel they are/have been born in the wrong place. Well, I certainly feel that too. But the other way round, as I am made for snow and low temperatures, but unfortunately, we're not having any of it here at the moment. Being up in the alps, going for a walk in the early morning, the crisp cold snow scrunching under your feet. The air so cold that with every inbreath, the hair in your nose slightly freeze together. The first rays of the sun appearing behind the mountaintop, transforming the thick layer of snow into a carpet of sparkling diamonds. Coming home with your cheeks red and burning from the cold, warming yourself with a big mug of steaming hot chocolate, before going out again to spend more time in the beautiful winter wonderland.

How I miss the alps. And winter. After that terrible summer (that's my definition) of 4 months of sunshine day after the day, and temperatures well above 30 degrees C, I think I deserve a proper winter now. But temperatures are still closer to 10 than to 0, and there's no snow in sight. But I haven't given up hope of Sunday walks in the snow yet. And another of my intentions for this year is to go on the one or other day trips to the mountains this year.

Tidying up and dreaming of winter

What mad weather we're having at the moment. Yesterday, it was about 13 degrees, so warm, it felt like spring, and nothing at all like winter. And what a wind there was blowing. The whole house was rattling. The snow has long gone, and there's no sight of any new. And at the same time, I'm reading about and seeing pictures of snow(storms) on Instagram and Facebook - and (some) people compaining about it. Oh please, send it my way! I'd be more than happy to get the fluffy white stuff! The more the merrier!

After the lazy Christmas break, I'm ready to start drawing and painting again. But first, my studio needs a bit of tidying up. So until I'm ready to get started, and until we, hopefully!, get some more snow here too, I'm editing and posting more photos from a couple of weeks ago, from our walk through winter wonderland.

Enjoying winter

It's the last day of my long, almost 3 week's Christmas holiday. It's a bit of a sad day today, as N.'s flying back to England later in the afternoon, and it's going to be a few weeks until we see each other again. But we had a great holiday together, going on walks, daytrips, taking lots of photos, and having lots of relaxing, lazy days too. And we've had a few days of snow too. Unfortunately, it's all gone again, but hopefully, there'll be some more this winter. I really do enjoy winter, the long dark nights, the cold, fresh air, and the beautiful, calm of a world covered in white.

Welcome 2015

The first day of a new year. Always a bit scary, but also exciting. All the possibilities. Plans, dreams, wishes, hopes, resolutions. One of my long list of New Year's resolutions, which really is more a to do list, is to spend more time on photography again. I love to take pictures, and to process them, using textures, creating little pieces of art from scenes, landscapes, things that captured my eyes, and made me happy.

Like a visit to the nearby animal park, to say hello to one of my favourite animals, the mooses. One of which was conveniently lying in the snow close to the fence.

And what happens to all those unsold, left over Christmas trees? They make a perfect Christmas feast for the animals.

The end of the year also brought snow. I absolutely love snow. The world is so much more peaceful, looks so much more beautiful when covered in white. After some grey and very snowy days, which were best spent at home, the last day of the year brought some blue sky. A perfect day for a walk along the hilltop. I just love to hear the sound of walking on snow, the crisp, clear, cold air, the beauty of snow on trees.

I took, of course, loads more photos, and I'll upload some more winter magic in the next few days/weeks. I also have a 500px account, if you're interested to see more photos. I'm not there that often, and try not to upload too many photos, but I've got some of my favourite photos there. It's a place worth visiting anyway, the work and skills found there is just amazing, and very inspriring.

Shine your light

...and sparkle

Happy Sunday!

A frosty morning with Instagram

I don't have much time, and patience, for sitting down in peace and quiet to do some painting at the moment, and I've neglected my camera for ages. That's probably why I enjoy my new iPhone even more, as it allows me to play around and snap, edit and share photos so easily.

It was a frosty morning, freezing cold but so beautiful, especially along the river. And while I very much regretted not having my camera with me, I was so glad that I had my phone to take photos with, and to share some of them on Instagram. I just love winter. And my new phone :)

Playing with my new mobile and Instagram

I finally got myself a new mobile phone, after the battery of my old one had reached the state where it wasn't really possible to use it anymore without it being plugged in. I had been thinking about getting a new mobile for ages, but just couldn't make up my mind about what I wanted. At the end, I couldn't resist the new iPhone, and I was so excited that I didn't even had to wait the usual 2-5 weeks for it, as the phone shop just had a delivery the day before, and I could take it home and start playing with it straight away.

It's my first smartphone, and now instead of reading, I spend most of the time on the train playing with it, looking for new apps, listening to Swedish audio books, which I don't even have to download on to my phone anymore, downloading music, and taking photos and editing them on my phone with the use of different apps. My latest 'discovery' is Instagram. Yes, I know, it's nothing new, and even I had heard about it long before I even considered getting a new mobile. But right now, it's all new to me, and so much fun to use.

Are you using Instagram? I'm still finding it a bit confusing to find people there. You'll find me here: NORDLJUSDREAMS

Focus52/5: *ice* cold

Week five's theme of Focus52 couldn't have been more appropriate. "Cold" it is indeed this week, with temperatures gradually dropping lower and lower below zero, and bringing, at long last, some snow - and turning the waterfront along the lake into a spectacular natural ice garden. Pure magic.

Delicate winter

I don't seem to find the time to do any painting or even drawing in the evenings this week, so instead I'm posting some more winter pictures. It is, after all, my favourite season of the year, and the delicate of beauty never ceases to fascinate and delight me. 

With all the painting, and drawing, and art journaling, and sketching these past few weeks and months, I have rather neglected photography a bit. Which is a pity, as I really enjoy going out with my camera, and spending some time at the computer processing the pictures afterwards. And it's always worth going for a walk in the (early) morning :).

Lines in the snow

Theme for Focus52, Week four (January 22 to 28): Leading Lines

Winter's beauty

Nature creating the most exquisite art on some car windows. There's nothing like winter :)

Summer...

Summer's now finally arrived here, with much delay, and, in my opinion, rather unnecessarily. I don't like summer very much, and I don't like sunshine very much. Long, cold, dark winter nights, the world outside all white, warm lights inside a comfortable, welcoming home, thick wollen socks, a big mug of hot white cholocate, big snowflakes falling noiselessly down outside my window are much more to my taste. The only thing I really like about summer are the thunder storms. Hopefully, we'll have one tonight!

Textures: Shadowhoues Creations

It's my day off today, outside, the temperature is around 30 degrees, and it's hot and humid, and I'm doing the only reasonable thing - I'm staying inside the house. All day. All weekend. And all of next week I would too, if I could and didn't have to go to work, as summer has apparently decided to hang around for a bit now.

So I'm staying inside the house, spending the time doing things that need to be done, going through my pictures, old winter picures, dreaming of cooler days, longing for winter, snow, ice, the north, another place, another life, listening to my favourite songs, dark, melancholic songs, which bring back memories of times gone by and places where I felt at home.

Maybe I'll go outside a bit later on, when it's cooled down at least a little bit, when the sun has set behind the mountain. But maybe not. I'm looking forward to having the snow scrunching underneath my warm winter boots again, in a few months, hopefully. I feel so much better in thick wollen jumpers and scarfs and winter boots than in t-shirts, skimpy dresses and sandals, and I look much better in them as well, believe me.

Textures: Shadowhouse Creations

So I'm staying in, drinking a glass of cold water with homemade mint syrup, and planning my next summer's holiday: Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland, the North Pole... ;)

{Day 24} ~ Obscurity

Day 24's prompt for Picture Winter was "Obscurity". The assignment was to "picture something frozen, something slushy, icy, cold, wet". And also to think about tones, when we shoot or when we post process the image, to see how colour tones effect a cold and icy image.

When I saw the prompt and read the assignment, I knew immediately which image I wanted to use for this. It's an image I took a few weeks ago, on Boxing Day.

I had wanted to post this image of snow ripples earlier and had spent some time processing it, trying different textures and tones and all, but I just wasn't happy so I put it aside. Today, I decided to go for a grainy b&w effect to emphasise and bring out the texture, patterns, harshness but also the sparkle of the snow. I'm much happier with the result now than with my earlier attempt.

I processed this following the "Grainy B&W" tutorial by The CoffeeShop Blog, using also the b&w texture and the vintage frame which I turned into a b&w. There is an Action to download and use but I still haven't worked out how to install actions. I've tried it a few months ago, trying to install actions so that I could use them in my PSE8's Action Player, but I simply couldn't find the folder you're supposed to put them in.

I was so happy to find another way of using actions described in The CoffeeShop Blog, by copying them into the effects palette. But Alas!, I can't find that folder either. I really don't know what the problem is. I managed to unhide all the hidden folders, I've come as far as ...Photoshop Elements > 8.0 > but then there are no Photo Creations > Photo effects folders. I've searched the harddisk, I looked into each and every sub-folder in the PSE8 folder, but nothing. It's so frustrating I could scream! The only consolation is that on The CoffeeShop Blog you can find the step-by-step instructions for most of the actions, so I just have to create all the layers myself until I'll hopefully find out how to use actions soon.

But what I've discovered in the last couple of weeks working through lessons after lessons of e-courses on post processing is that what I really want is the full Photoshop version...

{Day 17} ~ Stark Raving Magnificent

Prompt for Day 17 for Picture Winter: "Stark Raving Magnificent"

Today's assignment was to "capture some kind of starkness today", to "think minimal beauty", to "think simple".

Firstly: I didn't take this shot today but on Boxing Day, which was a perfect winter wonderland day spent with the family.

Secondly: I just can't think minimal and simple enough to do without using textures at the moment.

Thirdly: but I think I captured at least some minimal simple beauty with this winter road shot and as to starkness, well I must admit I had to look it up in hte dictionary to figure out what exactly that meant (and I'm afraid I've already forgotten it again...).

And finally. I just like how this shot turned out :-)

{Day 7} ~ Quiet Beauty

Prompt for Day 7 for Picture Winter: "Quiet Beauty"

This shot was taken earlier this week, when I finally managed to get some frosty shots. I had wanted to do that for ages but there weren't many frosty mornings and when there was one, I didn't have my camera with me.

I absolutely love winter, the soft pastel colours of winter, the world all covered in snow. The withered flora looks so interesting and beautiful if you care to look more closely and when it's covered in frost, well, that's just magical.

I used several layers to bring out the purple/lilac shades of the light that morning and to give it that "frozen" feeling. My own title for this was "Frozen in Time", but I think that the prompt "Quiet Beauty" fits equally well.

My, I couldn't live in a country with no winter! :-)

{Day 1} ~ Looking Out / A Breath of Fresh Air

Prompt for Picture Winter, Day 2: Looking Out / A Breath of Fresh Air

It was perfect weather for a walk in the snowy winter wonderland on Boxing Day and I walked for ages, long after the others had gone back home to coffee and cake, taking pictures. I so enjoyed walking in this area, close to where my cousin lives, on the this little dam along the river, the flat landscape, the huge sky, how far you can see. You don't really get such views anywhere in Switzerland. The place is close to the French border and if I had followed that path, I would have reached Strasbourg, which is only a few kilometers away :-). The sky was turning from bright blue sunny sky to a wonderful mid-afternoon sunset with long shadows, when I was walking back. No idea how long I had been out, but there was still enough cake left when I finally returned :-)

I absolutely love adding grungy frames to basically every image at the moment and I really had to restrain myself not to do it here well. But I think the beautiful landscape there doesn't really need anything :-).

{Day 28} ~ Through The Looking Glass

We got into a hell of a snowstorm right on a busy motorway when driving on to stay with our relatives after the family Christmas gathering. It was scary but we all finally arrived safe and sound :-)

{Day 27} ~ A Breath Of Fresh Air

We were promised a white Christmas - and we got it! :-)

Frau Holle got out all her pillows and duvets and started shaking them out by midday on Christmas Eve and she didn't stop until the next day, turning everything into a beautiful winter wonderland for Christmas. I went for a long 2 1/2 hours Christmas morning walk into the snowy forest with my Mum, and it was magical :-)

Textures by SkeletalMess / Shadowhouse Creations and Kim Klassen

Merry Christmas