My walls had been empty for a while and I wanted to paint something for myself. Before I drew my first line on this incredibly big canvas I spent almost 6 months figuring out what I would like to do. I knew it had to be something I like to watch for a very long time.

On a bycicle tour through Sweden and Denmark, I spent hours at the beach drawing water. In Helsingør at the Museum for Seaført, Denmark, I studied old oil paintings and learned more about the Baltic Sea itself at the Ozeaneum Stralsund, Germany. Both are a huge recommendation.

I was able to take a look and study William Turners art in London, UK. (A collection of images I have studied are available in the Google Art project ). A BBC Documentary about William Turner gave me confidence to study and learn more about the physics of water and light. Research is an important part for my job as designer and profession as an artist. I wanted to figure out why the ocean has this glass green glow, how bubbles influence reflections and color.

Acrylics, new colors

Back then, I didn’t know how Amsterdam colors are playing out and I don’t know either today. Each time I like to do something, I have to do studies and tests first. Cause the colors look different when they are dry. Predictability is one of the most difficult things about dealing with colors. I did write a review about Amsterdam Studio Series if you are interested in painting. It had been a while so I worked on my brush technique. I’ve developed a certain painting style when I was 18 years old and I’m not planning getting rid of it. In addition I needed a canvas.

Getting started

My favorite sketch in mind I started with a burned umbra, mixed with blue, covering the background. In my sketches I tried to figure out how the light is moving and falling. You might think my painting does not possess the perfection of Turner but if you stand in front of it, it’s moving. And that was the goal I was working on. I didn’t work on a copy of oil masters.

    Marie and her canvas

The final canvas is in my studio. I still don’t have a decent photograph of it. It would mean to ask for help. Moving it outside my apartment for having a chance to take a photo. In 2017 I’ll try.

Moving to Oil

In 2017 I started painting with oil, using my studies from 2016

Keep reading

Amsterdam Standard Series, Acrylics Color review

Study ice, preparing for another canvas

All projects