Beach sketches in Helsinki
finland
Sketching by the seaside
A fast sketch by the bay. Still no leaves on the trees, and even though the weather was warm, the wind was surprisingly cold.
Old stone bridge
Sketching in the park.
The narrow dirt road that crosses the stream here used to be a major highway for horse-drawn carts travelling across Finland.
Spring is late
It’s already Easter and the snow keeps on falling.
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…
Voyage autour de ma chambre
The few positive things about a sinus infection are:
1) Catching up on your reading.
2) Being so bored you start drawing everything around you.
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.
Luminous fogbank sliding in from the sea
Luminous fogbank sliding in from the sea, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
In the spring when the sea melts, we sometimes see very bright fog clouds.
This one rolled in very fast, stayed for a few minutes then retreated.
Seen from my office window in Espoo, looking over the bay towards Helsinki.
Snow-capped mystery car
Snow-capped mystery car, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
The mystery about this car is not its model or why would somebody let this much snow accumulate on their vehicle.
What’s mysterious is that it seems to have been driving around without disturbing the snow bank on top of it. The street under it has been cleared of snow and it has even left fresh tire tracks.
The solution is of course that the city has moved the car before the snow ploughs came, and has then returned it to its parking spot. Probably that also explains the mysterious markings on the snow…
Mille Croquis 