meldrum art
I just published a video of me painting this view from Kvarnholmen, click here to see it. I simplified the watercolour composition a lot and I really like it. It takes a lot of experience to start seeing what is a good composition and what is not. Believe me, I have made a lot of bad compositions in the past to get to this stage in my development as an artist.
Click the thumbnail below to see the full sized image.
Hello! In this episode I stay local. I paint the scene using gradients and I have a wandering caterpillar to deal with.
I do all this while holding a camera above my head! I hope this video inspires you to sketch and paint outdoors. If you would like to support the making of these videos please visit my Patreon page, there you can follow my weekly vlog, see bonus material, and even receive original watercolours. www.patreon.com/meldrumart
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This week I am home and I tend to spend too much time in my studio. I therefore make sure I go for a walk or cycle each day. I always bring my sketch bag with me. The weather has been really amazing lately so I am doing a lot of light studies. Watercolour for me is about capturing the light, it’s amazing how hard it is to catch. I just practice and practice and hopefully one day I will master it.
The sketch “Södermalm” is 13 x 17.5 cm on 300g Saunders Waterford paper.
Click the thumbnail below for full sized image
Yes, on Sunday I met more art friends. This time it was an unofficial Urban Sketchers meetup. We met at Humlegården in central Stockholm and enjoyed the sun soaked day.
I managed to do two sketches, one trying to capture the light in the trees and the other is of the statue of Linné, the famous Swedish botanist.
It was so nice to meet my friends. I know now it is really important to have social contact, I feel so much better for it. Luckily sketching is an outdoors activity and so it’s relatively safe to meet friends in this the year of Corona.
It was early Saturday morning, I broke the plastic sealing wrapper from around a William Turner book I had purchased – The ‘Skies’ Sketchbook by David Blayney Brown. Once I had studied it for a while I had this enormous urge to get outside and paint some clouds. Luckily the sky was very beautiful during the weekend, the soft pillow type cushions sailed past quickly which meant the scene in front of me changed completely every few minutes. I sat in my new camper van at Nacka Strand protected from the cool wind, I was inspired and I enjoyed every moment of it.
I painted this sketch yesterday, I just wanted to practice so that I feel comfortable with the subject. I also wondered what the composition would feel like with one of the sailing boat’s masts tilted by a small gust of wind as it rounded the island. I like it, much more dynamic, so I will go with this when I paint the demonstration version this Saturday.
Many people want to be in the workshop which is great considering I advertised it so late last week. Still a few places left if you are interested! 🙂
The sketch is about A5 in size and painted on Saunders Waterford paper.
I am preparing to film my latest watercolour demonstration which features the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. This watercolour ( is the third and final sketch that I have done. I have reference photographs but I need to translate those images into a watercolour that is emotive and therefore interesting. I think I am nearly there, I will be using a half sheet of Saunders Waterford paper for the final painting it will have a widescreen 16:9 format, wider in other words.
Keep an eye out for my new episode of Meldrum Watercolour Journeys on YouTube, it should be ready by the end of the week. Cheers!
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Click the thumbnail below for full-sized image.
