Waiting for the sun, waiting for the spring.

The darkest days are now over here in Northern hemi-

sphere. 

We still have only 5 to 6 day-light hours when 2008 turns to 2009 tonight.

A total inactivity in my drawing was obvious during the last months of 2008. I therefore cannot add anything brand new to my blog. I looked into my files and found this photo, taken on the shore of Lake Kintaus, Central Finland, on some spring days of 2008.

I would like to wish

A Very Good and Positive New Year 2009

to all readers of my blog!

New issues will be posted as soon as possible. Thank You for Your interest in my blog! And greetings, especially to Switzerland!

Autumn comes soon.

After a relatively rainy summer it seems that we are ready to welcome autumn. Rain continues but days get shorter and temperature will drop.

The 30 years' Anniversary Exhibition by KOPRU Artist's Society was succesfull. Now it is time to start something new - maybe autumn landscapes with colours? Photos will help if the weather get too bad for out of door-drawing. Auguste and Grandfather are also in my mind.

- This photo was taken by me in Pärnu, Estonia, during a spa trip on last autumn. Green, yellow, brown, grey - autumn colours.

Construction of KOPRU Art Exhibition is finished!

Sunday, 3rd of August, was a busy day. All pictures and sculptures had to be installed on the walls and the floors. How they match together? Which one needs sunlight, which survive in artificial light?

Installing lights, preparing some decoration and other activities also took time - not to forget cleaning of two floors in the old Power Plant building.

Exhibition will be opened tomorrow, 4th of August, at 12 o'clock. I think that I will visit it after my duties.

And then the official opening of the exhibition and 30th Anniversary of KOPRU on next Friday. An exciting week, indeed.

The old church of Petäjävesi, Central Finland.

The drawing, presenting the old church of Petäjävesi, is now finished.

This UNESCO Culture Heritage object has many beutiful features. Old timber, painted details, peaceful interieur...worth to visit!

Colours? Not this time, just B&W.

I will thank the Finnish master of living lines, late Henrik Tikkanen. I have adopted the idea of birds from him.

This drawing will be one of the five pictures which I will present in an art exhibition by KOPRU in Wanha Woimala (an old power plant by Vaajakoski rapids in Central Finland). 2006 is an anniversary year for KOPRU: this art society has grounded 30 years ago.

How do Auguste and Grandfather look like?

A most interesting contact to Jeroschka: a fascinating, old story about Auguste, Grandfather and tiny people! Because the lack of shared language, Auguste and Grandfather shall travel to meet a professor in a big city to have help.

When reading this story, relatively clear images of Auguste and Grandfather have arisen. I still have to wait until they are "ready" (how long hair does Auguste have? Is she tall or small? Grandfather has a long, white beard?).

I hope that these main actors have found their faces soon. After that, Auguste's room, railway station...

These features shall not be too realistic (which is something I try to avoid today) but they shall still be living.

A sunny afternoon in Suomenlinna Fortress, Helsinki.

It was a very warm and sunny day a couple of years ago. I was travelling for business reasons in Helsinki and had some free hours on afternoon. Decision to travel to Suomenlinna Fortress was easy to do because I have always loved this island.

The ferry trip from Helsinki harbour (beneath Helsinki Market Place) did not take too much time and the ticket was cheap. Contrast between busy Helsinki centre and peaceful fortress island was huge, no matter many other citizens and tourists have also agreed to visit Suomenlinna.

There is an art exhibition near Suomenlinna harbour. After checking it (always something interesting) I continued southwards, towards Suomenlinna church.

Calligraphic pencils 1mm, 2mm and 3 mm as well as a scetch book - then to find the best point of view. One peaceful hour, without anything confusing in my mind. Just to concentrate myself to the landscape: the church itself, trees around it, some other buildings, quiet people walking without any stress on the old, narrow street...

It is fanny that I can recall all these moments when I have got time to draw. Like I were there again!

First lines of the summer drawn!

Now it is done - at last: first lines were drawn after a delayed period of several months.

The church of Petäjävesi (Central Finland) is accepted by UNESCO as an important cultural value. It is'nt very big but it is beautiful! Dark timber walls, roof made of small wooden pieces...

First step took est. one hour: to find the total shape of the building and add the neighbouring trees. Then some hints of the patterns of the walls and roof.

How many lines should be drawn tomorrow? Not too many. This drawing should not be a document of every detail of the church. I try to avoid my tendency to make pictures too complete.

And the question of colours. Shall I use them (colour pencils) or not? Would B&W be better? Let's see tomorrow...

I will take photos of all steps of this drawing and add them here in my blog as soon as everything is ready.

"The scetch had been of a climbing rose against a wall; the painting was a trellis of pinks and grays and creams, a palette of dangers - which has been avoided. He would have been afraid of it himself, the inherent sentiment, the lack of accent. The ruling quarters of his own zodiac were more those of the colors of the clothes the Mouse wore: autumn and winter." - JOHN FOWLES: The Ebony Tower.

April by the lake...

Sun has shined all the day, and some water has appeared on the ice. Spring seems to come! Colours of this moment shall be chosen very carefully...there are not many of them but I'll try to find exactly right ones.

First drawing with dark colour (black pencil). Not with ink like fefore - not because I would be afraid about mistakes (well, I actually am!) but merely because I do not want too strong lines on the background of the colours.

This picture was done by me one year ago, in Spring 2007. May it be different if I have done it today?

Under the Mediterranean sky...

My first trip to the Mediterranean area in 2005 was an excellent experience. This was the very first and fast impression of me when exiting the airplane on Karpatos Airport: sun was shining nearly above me! And the same sun was with me every day, brightening the colours which were maily brown, green, grey...I suddenly found this small chapel (absolutely the oldest building I have ever visited!) on the western coast of Karpatos island and catched some photos of it. One of these photos helped me later to paint this landscape on my art course in Finland during long, dark Nordic nights...and here it is: not so naturalistic but, in opposite, joyful in some way - like my feelings during my very first trip to Greece!

A dreaming tree

A dreaming tree - not botanically very specified but a combination of some leaf trees...just without any backgroung. Only staying and dreaming.

A grey winter day. On the road between Jyväskylä and Imatra. Resting on a parking place beneath a bridge. An old boot, waiting for the next summer. No other colors than white, blue and grey.

Starting my drawing blog.

The morning is sunny and beautiful. Winter turns to Spring. A lot of drawings are resting everywhere and photos, taken during last summer, are waiting to be drawn.

How shall I continue? The great Finnish masters - Edelfelt, Gallen-Gallela etc. - were excellent drawers and have applied also a documenting style of drawing. They have been my favourites since my childhood (over 50 years ago) and I have tried to learn an similar, exact technique. But now I think that something new shall be found - colours, some other effects, not only exact lines...?