Final site for the drawing of Summassaari church

Here it is, at last: drawing of Summassaari in the middle of new frame!

Framing was actually very cheap: an old frame (with glass) from second hand market = 1 € and passe-partout from a local art shop (prepared to the final form)= 8 € makes total 9 €!

Reflection on the glass is certainly a problem - not a big one, but one should still look for a satisfactory point of view to see the drawing. I may remove the glass - I am not sure yet. My wife, however, says: "Let it be".

Orthodox Cathedral of Sortavala, Carelia

I will first thank Maria in Sortavala/Joensuu for this beautiful photo of Sortavala Church!

This cathedral seems to be in very good condition today. The colour of the roof and domes have chanced to blue (I have seen an old painting of it in Jyväskylä where the colour is different).

Some problems have caused a delay in the finishing of this acrylic painting.

I should start the drawing by making a decision about the vertical lines. My friend Petteri helped me by transferring them parallel (like in a photo taken with a tele objective). This, however, caused certain shortening of vertical lines (you can try it by taking a photo book and keep its upper side in a shorter distance from your eyes than the lower section). I finally got an agreement with myself by taken both the direction and the length of the lines into account (which means that the result is something between tele and normal objective views). I am not sure if I was right but "let it be"...

Next problem is the sky.

I like to draw (and I think that I am relatively good in drawing) but the colours are very difficult for me (actually, I am no painter yet). I will therefore thank my teacher Minna who helped me to correct the shade of blue (which was much too dark in the beginning)!

Last problem still stays: I started this work on a thin paper
by WINDSOR & NEWTON (excellent for drawing!) with pencils but, for some reason, decided to turn acrylic. Thin drawing paper does not suit to wet techniques! I shall now find a solution to this problem - how to get the even surface of the paper back again. "Let's see..."

Merry Christmas 2012 and Good New Year 2013!

I will wish all good to my blog friends for the Christmas time and new year 2013 with this photo, taken at my drawing table and featuring the nice candles, made by  Eira, the deliverer of my post cards!

New technique for Sortavala Church - accidentally!

Two large ink spots covered this drawing last night when I was joining our local art school. "What to do?", I was thinking. Could the problem be covered in some way? My teacher Minna suggested that I can use acrylic white to hide the spots (still seen in the middle of the drawing).

This was the way I found a new technique for my drawings: first pencil, the ink and, at last, acrylics! Goodbye, for awhile, colour pencils!

Island Santorini in October 2012

Island Santorini, Greece, was something very different: day-time temperature was +29oC all the week, in Finland below +10oC...

Travelling to Greece in October makes sense. Weather is still warm, streets not so over-filled by tourists and prices lower than during summer months ("low season" is just beginning, they say).

I had the honour to meet local, professional artist CHRISTOFOROS ASIMIS who has studied at the Fine Art School of Athens University and lived on Santorini since 1974. I really loved the blue shades of his paintings, presenting the views of local capital city FIRA and the famous small city IO, both situated on the top of the mountains. Mr. Asimis has also painted some fresco inside the big cathedral beneath.

My drawing above shows the view from FIRA towards IO on a sunny (like always) morning. I made it very fast because we were only sitting there to have glasses of local white wine. Tool: calligraphy felt-tip pen, 2 mm.

I can really recommend you to visit Santorini, Greece!

Some views into KOPRU 2012 Exhibition.

Here are some more photos from the installation of KOPRU 2012 Exhibition. We filled the ground floor of Wanha Woimala (= the old, characteristic power plant) of Vaajakoski with our pieces of art: paintings, sculptures, drawings and even dolls! My own works did not need too much room - I set them all under a window looking to the river, in the very same way as in previous years. Tintamarresque was prepared by several members of KOPRU together. I "installed" our photographer Juhani into it - matched well! The keeper of the gallery (as well as the neighboring restaurant in Naissaari) promised that we can have our 2013 Exhibition in Wanha Woimala, too. We are very satisfied because this building is an excellent site for us because its location, connections to "Kosken Kohinat" weekend events and - of course - because its architecture itself!

KOPRU Exhibition 2012 has been mounted and opened!

The annual exhibition of art society KOPRU has just been opened in Wanha Woimala, situated in the beutiful river valley of Vaajakoski, Central Finland. This old industrial area belongs today to Jyväskylä city, being independent until middle of 00's. This summer exhibits a lot of new paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographic works which gives it a fresh feeling and a sense of novelty. More photos and written experiences will be published soon! You are, however, very welcome to the exhibition, because a visit to this excellent gallery, built in an old power plant, is a great experience itself!