inspiration from a Norwegian artist: Harald Sohlberg

Harald Sohlberg
Norwegian, 1869-1935
Fisherman's Cottage, 1906

Here's another piece I came across on my visit to the Art Institute of Chicago last year.  I don't know how I had missed this piece in my previous visits.  It really stood out to me this time.  I am drawn to how dark the landscape is but how light and welcoming the house is.  This painting is just so beautiful and dramatic.

Harald Sohlberg is a Norwegian artist whom I had not heard much of. I think the spotlight on Norwiegan artists usually falls on Edward Munch. Which is too bad because I think some of that should go to Harald Sohlberg's work.  To see what I mean, check out Art Inconnu's blog post about his work here.

What do you think of his work? Which is your favorite?

inspiration from Gaston La Touche - Pardon in Brittany

Gaston La Touche

French, 1854-1913

Pardon in Brittany, 1896

One of the artists/artworks I’m inspired by is Gaston la Touche’s Pardon in Brittany.  The first time I saw this piece was last summer when we were at the Art Institute of Chicago. It stopped me in my tracks. It’s just so stunning in person.  It was almost hiding in a side room.  Which may be why after years of visiting the museum, I hadn’t seen it before.

What I notice the most and love the most about this piece is: the figure of the woman on the horse, almost stoic stands out amongst the sea of white hats; and the glow of their candles coming through gives the piece an overall ethereal feeling.

Have you seen his work before?  Which is your favorite?

For more information and images of Gaston La Touche:

This is how it looks at the AIC: http://bit.ly/i2Hohr

The Art Institute's Collection: http://bit.ly/hQLoii

An interview with the artist in the NYT: http://bit.ly/efRexj

More images of his work: http://bit.ly/eJeRCO   

  

A peek inside the studio - working on a new landscape

The newest landscape in my studio is 24"x36" which is the longest landscape I've painted so far. I've always envisioned my landscapes on larger canvases. When it was time to buy a new canvas, a friend suggested I try it out. (Thanks Courtney, I love it) Here are some of the first images of the work in progress:

1st step was sketching out the image with a charcoal pencil

A light layer of blue for the sky to start the color...

Color is then added to the rest of the landscape

(detail of the landscape)

 More images to come next week... stay tuned.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

A peek inside the studio - "Winter Pond" is almost finished

I am almost finished with re-working Winter Pond.  I think I'm going to take a break from it and start a new piece.  The image above is my entire studio area. It's not much space but I use every inch of it that I can and I'm just grateful that I have the space and time to get some painting done.


The photo on the stool is the picture I refer to when working on this piece.  Each painting is inspired by a place I've visited and the photo helps me remember the details


In the bottom right corner of the above picture, is the corner of "Reunion", another painting I'm re-working.  I've been revisiting this painting for a few months now and I feel as though I'm done with the touch ups. I'll let it rest as well and revisit it in a week or so.


You can see the original image for Winter Pond here.
You can see the original image for Reunion (and a more recent version) here.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

a peek at what's happening in the studio

Winter Pond copyright elisa ann lindstrom

One of the positive things about having the studio in the bedroom is that everyday I see the piece(s) I'm working on even if I don't have time to actually paint.  Yesterday, after a very busy day where I hadn't touched the paints/canvas at all, I happened to look at Winter Pond and I noticed the sky had this weird "S" shape in the clouds.  I hadn't noticed it before and I had thought I was done with the sky.  So, today I worked on getting rid of the odd cloud formation and it looks like I'll be re-working the sky for a day or so more. Stay tuned...