It’s finally warm enough to sit outside and draw.
city
Swimming in Vienna
Maybe the biggest surprise in Vienna was that you can find many places to swim, just a few subway stops from downtown. These are either quiet branches of the Danube or cut-off sections (basically lakes). Some are surrounded by high-rises, others by parks.
Placa Prim, Poblenou
A wonderful little square near our apartment. The trees are a strange species from Argentina, called ombu.
Barcelona Sketches
We spent three weeks in Barcelona, and that was too short. I only had time to do a few sketches, but I think the city will continue to inspire my paintings for a while.
Interior courtyard in Paris, 6eme arrondissement.
Pont neuf, Paris
A few rare days of sun in wintertime Paris.
Kiasma art museum, Helsinki
This building by Stephen Holl manages to be too big and cramped at the same time. Not only does it look like a Zeppelin hangar from almost all sides, the inside has surprisingly little actual hanging space. This is because a third of the floor space and the full height of the building is taken by the lobby and an oversized ramp. See video here: www.kiasma.fi/kiasmainfo
My next drawing of this square will include the tents of Occupy Helsinki. It was too cold to draw outside so I had to seek refuge in a café. Yes, the occupiers have been there all winter – at -25C and 50cm of snow.
This was my first field test of Neocolor II crayons. Here they are combined with Supracolor II pencils.
Ice fishing on the sea, early spring, Helsinki
It’s amazing to see them sitting there on the ice, immobile for hours on end. As it’s spring, the sea is melting fast, with more and more open water peeking through. But still they come to sit near a little hole to wait for a nibble. I hope they eat what they catch…
Wooden villa in Haaga, Helsinki
The whole neighbourhood used to be nothing but villas until they started to build pre-fab apartment blocks in the 50s.
Kuala Lumpur, seen from Chinatown towards the old railway station
Kuala Lumpur, seen from Chinatown towards the old railway station, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
We spent a month backpacking around Singapore and Malaysia. Despite all the excitement, I took the time to do a few sketches…
Here’s one of the wonderfully chaotic architecture of downtoen Kuala Lumpur. That’s Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in the foreground.
Mille Croquis 