Baltic Adventure Part 3; Sketching in a Tallinn Courtyard
Tallinn is amazing. The old city is gorgeous, the new city is beautiful and bustling with friendly people, and the food. Oh the food. I could beets for the rest of my life and be so happy.
We’ve been here for a few days now, so I thought I’d take a bit of time to sketch in the courtyard of our hotel.
Starting with a little graphite volume study.
Adding the water-soluble pastel.
Wet paint.
It’s still pretty chilly, so I’m wrapping up with this sketch here and heading back inside.
The plan is to translate these to my Fredrix roll canvas later on tonight, once we get back from a dinner which I hope involves more beets.
Baltic Adventure Part 2; Art Museums and Sketches
Work by Elina Autio
Today we visited a few art museums, ate some beets and I got some time to sketch. A few of my favorite things <3
We started out at Taidehall, a smaller museum but focused on young emerging artists. These wood pieces by Elina Autio were immediate favorites.
From there, we moved onto Kiasma which was a huge, beautiful place. On the top floor was an exhibit I’ve been hoping to see for awhile, by Shoplifter.
It was amazing.
If you get a chance ABSOLUTELY go see this installation.
When we got back to the hotel there was a bit of time before heading off to find dinner, so I thought I’d make a few sketches based off our time at the museums.
I’m using my Caran d’Ache water-soluble pastels (really great for working while traveling!) on squares of 12 oz Dixie pro-series cotton canvas from Fredrix Canvas.
I looked through the photos I had taken earlier today and wanted to pull out the colors that spoke to me and combine them. I built up layers on the canvas, letting some parts dry and some parts stay wet and just kept adding pigment until I was satisfied.
Then I spent the next 20 minutes positioning them around our hotel room trying to find decent light, only to discover it was in the bathroom. Note to other traveling artists - when looking for good lighting, check the bathroom first!
Baltic Adventure Part 1; Helsinki
End of the month recap in the air!
Checking in from Helsinki today!
We’re spending the next few weeks traveling between Helsinki, St. Petersburg and Tallinn. We’ve been trying to get over here to explore the Baltic region and finally found good airfare.
As is tradition (and necessary to stave off my flight anxiety…) I spent the first part of the flight working on my schedule, planning projects and preparing ideas. I began with the recap worksheet I try to do at the end of every month -downloadable here- and ended with planning works for my upcoming solo show at The Inn at Harbor Shores in St. Joseph Michigan. (With Spiderman into the Spiderverse playing in the background!)
We’ll have a few days here in Helsinki to explore, then we’re off to St. Petersburg by boat.
Travel Supplies!
Our airfare was pretty good - but it also meant no checked baggage, so I had to be very particular about what supplies came along. Pictured above are;
-Watercolor sketchbook
-Watercolor postcards
-Caran D’Ache watersoluble pastels
-Fredrix Canvas squares (cut from a roll).
-Fredrix canvas sheets rolled in my travel tube.
From the Helsinki harbor
Today’s plan is a few art museums, naps to adjust to the new time zone, dinner out by the harbor and some time to paint later on back in the hotel, but we’ll see just how much our internal clocks let us accomplish.
What's in My Art Bag; Hawaii Edition
Tomorrow we head out for a little Hawaiian adventure. We’ll stay on the big island this time, rent a car and just sort of explore and venture out as the winds take us.
I’ve packed a slightly condensed bag because of this - mobility will be key and I don’t want to drag behind because I’ve overloaded my bag with supplies I won’t use.
This is the paired down collection;
Supplies for Hawaii
1.) Plastic tube.
Surfaces;
2.) Pre-stretched and gessoed canvases.
3.) Strathmore 9 x 12 Acrylic pad
4.) Fredrix 9 x 12 Watercolor Canvas
5.) Strathmore 9 x 12 Toned Mixed Media pad
6.) Moleskine Watercolor sketchbook
7.) Canson lay-flat sketchbook
Media;
8.) Fredricks and Mae circle watercolor palette
9.) Golden hi-flo in White
10.) Winsor and Newton Indigo
11.) Winsor and Newton Burnt Sienna
12.) Winsor and Newton sketching pencils
13.) Derwent graphitone watersoluble pencil
14.) Caran d’Ache watercolor pastels
Brushes;
15.) Rubber wedges
16.) Long-handled hake
17.) Niji waterbrush
And - it all fits!
So we’re off - I’ll check back in when we’re in Hawaii!
(Orders placed between today and the 13th won’t ship until the 15th, just FYI)
<3
EH Sherman Art Abroad - Making Work in Ireland
We took a 'circular' path around the island, beginning in Dublin, Carlingford, Belfast, Letterkenny, Castlebar, Cork and back to Dublin. It was an incredible two weeks of sights, sounds, sketching and of course - food.
Spending multiple nights in each location, we took day trips to the surrounding areas as we went. It was a very busy trip, always on the go, but just so utterly fantastic. 99% of the places I've visited I've fallen in love with -- but Ireland just might come out on top.
Perhaps it was the small towns, connected by narrow winding roads and divided by nothing but stone walls and sheep herds that felt like a moment back in time, maybe the overflowing warmth of everyone we met, maybe the jaw-dropping vistas. Or more likely, a combination of everything above.
When I wasn't taking pictures, I was sketching and painting. Filled with a new appreciation for greens, grays, blackish blues and tiny dots of purple I worked furiously to express what I felt looking at the landscape.
Every time we rounded a bend it seemed like there was another valley, another mountain that called to be explored. Like a carrot on a stick. A big, beautiful paleo-lithic carrot.
I could have spent another 3 weeks there, easily. Or longer. But I only really had 3 weeks of clothes with me, sooo...
It was just the most fantastic time. And I truly enjoyed getting to talk with some of you on a few of the car rides via Instagram Live, being able to show my process in the car was just such a neat experience. (Follow me @ellen_the_lemon for the next Live video!)
Now that we're back and I'm settled into the organization of the work I made, I can't help but think wistfully on the slow mornings spent waking up to mountain haze, listening to the sheep and smelling the seashore. I'm grateful for all the wonderful suggestions we received on what to do, what to see and what to eat, you guys had some truly fantastic advice!
I'll be posting a major shop update in the coming days, (featuring the works made in ireland!) sign up for the newsletter to be notified the second it goes live.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend <3