"This trip was the perfect opportunity for me to experience a new environment and meet with other artists. New environments always provide many novel inputs and ideas. I also hoped for a peaceful and quiet experience in the deep forests of Dalarna. The enormous sky at night was dead quiet and full of stars, something I don’t usually experience at home, because I live in a city. I have always been a bit afraid of the dark since I was a child, and being here in this silence was quite special, like you could feel it and it made me feel both safe and scared at the same time.

The inspiring company I had with me during the Summer Camp was a very fortunate mix of artists that made the week super-relaxed, undemanding and creative. I would like to emphasize the contributions of the Summer camp’s private chef Seleka, who made every night into a feast. While I was still a bit anxious in the beginning, I tried to find a more private spot were I could work unseen, but as the week proceeded I felt more and more at ease, and at the end of the week we were all working side by side, willingly providing feedback and exchanging thoughts and ideas to each other.

The artwork I made is strongly connected to my experiences at Marcusgården. During my day-long drive up north towards Dalarna, I was passing by landscapes which slowly shifted in color from a summery green to an increasingly yellowed-red-toned early autumn. One day I went for a long walk in search of mushrooms in the deep forest and came upon a small lake surrounded by white birches. The colors were fantastic in the warm September sun, reflecting layers of green, yellow, orange plants, turquoise sky and purple heather. The next day I continued my work with two large canvases and tried to bring in these layers of colors into my work. I had stretched and pinned the canvases directly to the wall of a wooden cabin and it was a special feeling to stand there painting in the great outdoors. I had my palette on the ground and leaves swirled down on it. All of these impressions and memories are collected in the silkscreen print and the autumn leaves are included as a hand-painted detail."

Available original artworks…

Monday, September 6, 2021

Started the day with a walk in the woods around Näsets Marcusgård. So beautiful, quiet and peaceful. Later in the day I started working on some small works on paper and making collages.

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

I woke up with a great feeling and more energy today. Together with our host Mireille I baked cinnamon buns, the traditional Swedish fika.

Continued with painting and collage work. For me, that’s a great way to kick-start the creative process.

Delicious Spanish food for lunch that of course the brillian chef Seleka fixed, we are so lucky to have him here! During the afternoon and evening, I started putting up some canvases outside. It is so humid in the night air so the acrylic paint becomes more like oil point. Different, but in a good way.

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

A nice walk today at the Siljansringen area where a meteorite hit earth about 380 million years ago and created a huge crater. A fascinating place.

During the afternoon and evening I continued the struggle trying to paint on canvas outside. It’s quite different to work outdoors in this way, difficult but at the same time a pretty nice feeling. The weather is great, sunny and warm. I kept on painting until the mosquitoes got too intense. The days are very bright and the colours are vibrant, the opposite during night. Complete blackness complete darkness but magical starry nights.

Thursday, September 9, 2021

Beautiful day and spectacular view. A nice hike, and I picked some lingonberries and some mushrooms along the way.

Started paint on a cardboard that I earlier used as a palette. It had been out in the rain and the paint just floated out, and it became a very nice surface.

Friday, September 10, 2021

Partly painted over one of the paintings, struggling to make something drastic happen to it. One part of the painting suddenly appeared interesting and the painting opened up again. This white painting is much more raw and inpasto than I usually work with. I like what being outside and surrounded by nature affects the process and materials. It’s challenging but interesting and this has given me new ideas to continue with later in my studio. 

Saturday, September 11, 2021
Saturday and on the final day at Summer Camp we did a little opening at Näset Marcusgård. Super nice day hanging out with the other artists and have a closer look at what they been up to during this week.

I showed some work on paper and two large paintings on canvas. It then became very obvious to me how influenced I have been by the surroundings and the different places we visited during the week, the waterfall, the huge contrast here between the daylight and the complete darkness during night and of course the magnificent views of hills and trees for miles and miles. It was also fascinating to observe how the colours slowly transformed from summer green to more autumn yellow, orange and red, so beautiful. 

Nature has also been very physically integrated in my working process, rain, grass, bugs, wind and sun. Mostly as a positive influence but also challenging. Thank you all for a fantastic week!