Week 36 of my painting project „One Year – One Island“
This week, I was able to cycle directly from home to my subject. As I set off, I rode past numerous cornfields, like green walls on both sides of the road, rustling in the wind. I rode part of the way along the „Ölandsleden“ cycle path, which was created a few years ago from lighthouse to lighthouse. Despite the high season, I was almost alone on this path. The people I saw were standing deep in the forest, picking blueberries. There are entire sections of the forest here where the forest floor is almost exclusively covered with blueberry and lingonberry bushes. Surprisingly, most of the diligent pickers are wearing shorts, skirts, and flip-flops or sandals. I would only go there with long pants, knee socks, and proper footwear, as I know the bushes are a tick paradise.
While the tall, bare pines above the blueberry bushes allow enough sun to ripen the berries, other parts of the forest are cool and dark, and the ground is covered with man-high ferns. When you cycle through the forest, you can really sense this changing vegetation. And the forest floor smells so different, but always wonderful. (I blue marked my way on the map below.) I reached my destination after about 40 minutes: the Hagskogs-road along the west coast.
In northern Öland, the west coast – ideally with a clear view of the Kalmar Sund – is the most expensive and desirable place to own a home. Anyone who can see the island ”Blue Maiden”(at the left edge on the map) from their kitchen window (from every house on the red marked costline on the map) has „made it“ in Sweden.
The northernmost part of this coastal road begins south of Byxelkrok and initially runs along Hagskog (skog = forest), a mixed forest inhabited by elk as well as well-kept patches of wild garlic. Here, lined with small, century-old wooden huts, as well as large, glass-fronted bungalows. Some were once the homes of poor fishermen, whose descendants have long since moved to Stockholm and only see fish prepared in restaurants. These houses are then used as vacation homes, and the simple wooden furnishings, drinking water from their own well, and dry toilets are seen as a welcome and soothing change from the polished city routine. Call it ”Back to the roots” or ”Back to nature”, at least for three weeks a year. Other families invest in the property, remodel, or expand. Some even tear down the old house and build new ones, often with huge windows and covered terraces catching the evening sun and a view of the water to the west.
Many of the passing cyclists probably cast an envious, or at least longing, glance at these properties. The Hagskogsvägen passes all these houses and is considered one of Öland’s roads with the most beautiful panoramic views. The winding road follows the coastline, and around almost every bend lies a view worth photographing. The speed limit is 40 km/h, and the road is narrow, making it ideal for cruising. In summer, many motorcycle groups—often on wide Harley Davids or long-necked choppers—come to ride the coastal path. A small section of this road is lined with black pines, whose long branches, bent by the wind, spread across the road, making it feel like driving through a green tunnel. In the backlight, the trunks and branches appear like silhouettes; in the evening, the trees cast long shadows across the Hagskogsväg. This is one of my favorite places, and I always bring new visitors here. That’s why the motif for this section of my project „One Year – One Island“ was quickly found this time. Do you find the overhanging black pines as great as I do?
While I sat on the side of the road in my camping chair, painting, many cars passed by, I counted three motorcycle groups, and I gave up counting bicycles when I reached 26. Most of the car drivers were considerate enough to creep past my chair very slowly. I also saw three people in bathrobes walking from the houses on the left across the road to the rocky shore—and back. So it wasn’t a very quiet place to paint, but I was determined to capture it.
I don’t usually come here in the summer, but rather during all the other times of the year, when there is hardly anyone else to be seen and all the holiday homes are mothballed and locked up. But no, I’m not jealous of the owners; in fact, I’m glad I don’t have to live here. Because I also know some of the disadvantages of this location, of which the passersby are unaware. First of all, it is difficult to maintain a garden that has nothing but forest scrub. Here under the pines the soil is almost entirely sandy, and a desirable area of grass does not grow particularly well. The many brown, acidic pine needles are to blame. Mowing the lawn is no fun (and I know, as I’m mowing for a client here): either the sand kicks up a lot of dust, or the countless pine cones are flung out by the rotating blades, landing like bullets on the shins of whoever is walking behind the mower. Being so close to the woods, snakes and digging badgers also frequent the properties, and in some years there are extremely large numbers of ticks, which are spread everywhere by the deers. Many of the houses have no municipal water or sewage connection and therefore have to use their own well water and an often outdated septic tank. Since the wind here usually blows from the southwest, meaning the autumn storms also batter the tall, dry pines, there is a lot of breakage here on the west coast – especially since the water shortages in recent years – that is, trees are torn down or snapped in storms. The occasional tree falls onto the property or – even worse – onto the roof of the house. And last but not least, since the Hagskogsväg is so popular with tourists in the summer, you’re practically on display here for all those who pass by. And in addition to the much-desired view of the water, there’s always the view of the busy road during the summer. But the view is, of course, incredibly beautiful.
Now here is my painting for this week:
Next week, I’ll show you a rocky swimming spot below the coastal path. It’s also a very popular picnic spot for the islanders.
Hope to see you there
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