Week 26 – nature reserve „Södra Greda löväng“
Week 26 – SUBSTACK – Naturreservat Södra Greda
Great to have you back… spring is coming to my island!
A week ago, I returned from a five-day trip to Åland. It was part of an international art project I’m participating in: the Baltic Sea Art Project. I’d like to briefly tell you about the project and what we’re doing there.
It was initiated by an artist on Bornholm (DK), who invited three artists each from three other Baltic Sea islands to collaborate with her and two other Danish artists in a traveling exhibition. Besides Bornholm and Öland (SE), Åland (FI) and Saaremaa (also called Ösel) (ES) are also participating. Last year in May, the exhibition started in Bornholm (12 artists with four works each), in August the exhibition was here with us on Öland, and now we’ve been to Åland. In August, it will be shown one last time – this time in Saaremaa. The artists from the respective island where the exhibition is taking place invite all other artists to the opening and a four-day cultural program. This also includes to visit each others studio – which is my favorite part of those trips. That’s what we were doing in Åland. The idea behind the project is to create long-term contact between the artists, across borders, with the Baltic Sea as a link between us. Here are some photos of the project:
This time, the highlight of the program was a visit to the Åland Parliament (Åland is a Finnish province with political autonomy) and a shared lunch with the Minister of Culture. It also turned out that one of our fellow artists is an excellent and much-booked tour guide: a true walking history book! We saw and heard so much in such a short time that all three of us were noticeably quiet and very exhausted on the 10-hour drive home.
And the next event is already in sight: in two weeks, „Konstlandskap Öland“ will take place: around 90 artists will open their studios to the public simultaneously. I’m one of the decision-makers in this event and am offering my gallery space for a group exhibition for some of the artists. I’ll be hanging this exhibition alone (that’s what it’s called when you arrange and hang the paintings in the gallery). Currently, there are still cobwebs and dirt from overwintering my geranium pots. Before that, however, my daughter and her boyfriend are coming to visit for a week – but the house needs a thorough spring cleaning before I let anyone else in!
But to get finally back to „One Year – One Island.“
I painted the last picture before leaving for Åland on May 5th (you can see it further down in this post). So, I was already behind on painting and reporting. As soon as I got home from Åland, I checked the weather forecast, and on Monday, the storm finally seemed to calm down, and instead of rain, there was sunshine again: my opportunity! So I planned to paint on May 19th and actually managed to visit two places and paint two pictures that day. After all, the sun now rises shortly after 4:00 a.m. and doesn’t set again until after 9:00 p.m. Plenty of time, then. I started the second painting at 4:00 p.m., after a quick „fika“ with a fellow artist, Anne. The problem with painting two paintings in a row is that you have to mentally persevere. The concentration required while painting really drains your brain after a few hours. I’ll tell you about that day in the next post.
But now: the 26th painting in this project, and thus ACTUALLY halfway through. (I’ve said that before, but I somehow miscalculated. Embarrassing!)
Week 26 – „Södra Greda löväng“ Nature Reserve
On May 5th, the weather was perfect, and I was (finally!) out and about again. Because it had now become distinctly spring-like, I wanted to capture the fresh green of the trees, the many cowslips, and the first orchids (for which Öland is famous) in my painting. So I looked for a spot in the blooming nature near Föra, as that was the necessary 6 km north of Arbelunda. (I calculated that the circumference of the island divided by 52 (weeks) is about 6 kilometers. This means I need to keep a distance of about 6 km between the locations to get around the island in 52 weeks.) A quick search led me to Södra Greda. There’s a nature reserve here that has a huge variety of meadow flowers and orchids in spring. The meadow with the old oak trees was beautiful, but apart from cowslips (my favorite flower), there were (so far?) only a few orchids. Nevertheless, I found a suitable subject: a light green, damp hazel forest with wood anemones and my precious cowslips. I positioned myself in the warming sun and got started. Every now and then, some hikers or flower lovers came and looked over my shoulder. At my request, one of the women took a photo of me, so I didn’t have to fiddle with the tripod or the self-timer.
This time, I took lots of photos of the painting process so you can see how I work.
I’m quite happy with the result, even though I still wish it would be even more loose:
Hope you found this intressting. If yes, please let me know (by comment or mail) and I will gladly show you the process of another painting in once a while. If you like, share this post with someone who would love to see this. ; )
Have a wonderful, magnificent, exuberant spring!
