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Beginning something new is always hard, but now I am into the process…

Matthias’ pocket art is finished. His son apparently recognized him immediately, which makes me happy. See the finished result after three layers of varnish.

Now I am getting ready for something really big. The pocket art piece is 75×62 mm only and now I am going to start on a painting which is going to be 2 x 2 meters, divided in four pieces, each one square meter.

It is going to be a painting of a group of young men…

Today I had a visit in the studio by a young and talented German artist and his adorable wife, Markus and Theresa Nass. Just a few snapshots out of his catalogue. For more, visit his website www.markusnass.com. He works with plexiglass, epoxy, and LED lighting. Very interesting work. Some of his pieces are very large, like 170 x 130 cm, etc.

Matthias’ pocket art is finished. His son apparently recognized him immediately, which makes me happy. See the finished result after three layers of varnish.

Now I am getting ready for something really big. The pocket art piece is 75×62 mm only and now I am going to start on a painting which is going to be 2 x 2 meters, divided in four pieces, each one square meter.

It is going to be a painting of a group of young men…

Today I had a visit in the studio by a young and talented German artist and his adorable wife, Markus and Theresa Nass. Just a few snapshots out of his catalogue. For more, visit his website www.markusnass.com. He works with plexiglass, epoxy, and LED lighting. Very interesting work. Some of his pieces are very large, like 170 x 130 cm, etc.

After the exhibition at Villa Holsby, Matthias van Arkel wanted me to paint a pocket art piece of his eye. I took pictures and started working on the tiny painting (75×62 mm). It has been quite a while since I did pocket art and it was difficult…

As always when I am painting, it felt impossible, but after letting the first layer dry, it seemed like I was moving ahead again.

Now I need to add three layers of varnish to give the work depth and surface. I am not sure it looks like Matthias – it will be interesting to hear what he and his family say.

Last summer I sold a large painting to a family in Mölle. They have a really cool house and in the latest issue of the Swedish interior decorating magazine Residence their house is featured, along with a picture where my painting is visible…

After the exhibition at Villa Holsby, Matthias van Arkel wanted me to paint a pocket art piece of his eye. I took pictures and started working on the tiny painting (75×62 mm). It has been quite a while since I did pocket art and it was difficult…

As always when I am painting, it felt impossible, but after letting the first layer dry, it seemed like I was moving ahead again.

Now I need to add three layers of varnish to give the work depth and surface. I am not sure it looks like Matthias – it will be interesting to hear what he and his family say.

Last summer I sold a large painting to a family in Mölle. They have a really cool house and in the latest issue of the Swedish interior decorating magazine Residence their house is featured, along with a picture where my painting is visible…

My son, Lucas, has started designing and making skateboards – longboards. His idea is to have them decorated by artists. I was honored to be the first one to paint the under-side of a Lucas-design skateboard.

It is going to be interesting to see the trucks mounted…

I have been working on the last part of the family portrait suite. I started by covering the entire surface with black, which created a very nice structure. Then I spontaneously struggled to find the face. It is like learning to see – by going back and forth I am slowly becoming aware of the characteristics of the face. The first layer was done in light grey, diluted with a lot of oil.

The plan was to add several thin layers and keep searching for the face. In the process I have only made a few meassurements to check the position of the eyes, the nostrils, and the mouth.

After letting the paint dry, I continued with more white, and a touch of light red, adding a bit of black in the dark parts. I worked quickly and without thinking too much, moving about in a pretty irrational way – a little here, a little there.

Suddenly I felt there was a quality of the work that I did not want to eliminate by working too much, so I decided to take a break and check with the family how they felt about the piece. I was a bit nervous as I was wondering if they would think the painting was too rough and not exact.

On the contrary, they felt I had been able to capture his attitude and they could immediately see their son in the work. Needless to say, I was quite pleased.

I suggested a few changes or additions, which I will do today…

Slow process in the studio right now. Yesterday I visited Louisiana and Ordrupgaard in Denmark. It is good to get some new inspiration and ideas…

Some slow progress, though. I sanded the surface of my painting and added some white.

A bit boring, so for several days I was wondering what to do. Then I finally decided to try something new.

Covered the entire painting in titanium white. Then I used a spackle and spread the paint evenly over the entire surface.

I wiped off as much white as I could. I had to go back and use clean paper towels to wipe off as much as possible.

I left some of the white paint untouched in the lower left corner. When you look at the painting from an angle, it almost looks like glare. Now it seems like the face is appearing or disappearing in fog or something. Maybe the face is being forgotten?

It is an interesting face, as it partly looks Asian. I think I will be returning to this face more than once.

I have been out sick for a few days, but now I am back in action again. Before I got sick I started a new painting of a “mystic beauty”…

My idea is to build up very thin layers of paint. In between layers I have also used sandpaper to let the wood grain come through even more.

I have been painting some again. While I am waiting for visitors I am working. It is not ideal, as I am occasionally interrupted, but it is equally hard to work when I am wondering if somebody will come. It is a lot easier to work days when I am not open for visitors.

Now I have come this far. I wonder if I am finished? Not sure. As you can see I have been lucky with the grain under the eye and around the nose. You can go to the post from 6 July to see the first steps.