Nina Johansson

It is finally warm enough in Stockholm to head out on the bicycle in a t-shirt and jeans and sit down to draw just about anywhere. So wonderful – this is what I´m longing for all winter.

I pulled out my old trusted fountain pen and watercolours today, at Bastugatan in Stockholm, feeling a little rusty… I have been drawing a lot in greyscale lately, using all kinds of drawing tools except watercolours. But – it can only get better now, summer is almost here! : )

21 x 16 cm, Namiki Falcon with Platinum Carbon black ink and watercolours, on Lana 200 gsm cold press watercolour paper.

Fresh from Slussen, the sluice canal is in full use. There is always a curious little crowd watching the boats going in and out of the canal.

29,5 x 23 cm, Staedtler fineliner, PITT Artist big brush pens on Fabriano hot press watercolour paper.

Another scroll sketch. I went drawing at Slussen again today, and had decided to do a number of quick sketches like the two on the left, drawn in Gula gången (Yellow walkway, with yellow tiles on the walls). But after a coffee break I found this super sunny spot in the empty square outside Blå bodarna (Blue booths/stalls, and you guessed it – blue tiles on the walls), and I couldn´t persuade myself to do a quick sketch. I stayed on there for a while, basking in the sun, drawing away.

Inside Blå bodarna there used to be a number of small shops and stalls, among others a big stationery shop that was still there when I came to Stockholm in -98. Now there are two small shops and a hair dresser left, and the rest have been taken over by a nightclub or simply shut down. A half scary place at night, and a dark, worn down corridor in daytime, still retaining some of it´s oldschool cool.

50 x 13 cm, ink fineliners, pencil and coloured pencil in Moleskine Japanese album.

I went to Slussen to sketch today, and brought some tools I haven´t used in a long time – bamboo pen and ink, grey paper and a white Uni Poska pen. Actually I have never used the Posca pen, it was a quite nice acquaintance to make.

The weather was nice and sunny, but unfortunately the wind tipped my ink bottle over, so it made a mess in the beginning stages of the drawing. I tried to mop up most of the ink with a tissue, and kept on drawing. It was a lucky thing I had decided to work with black and white, the Posca pen managed to cover most of the ink blob, but it wasn´t a pretty sight at first…

48 x 25 cm, bamboo pen with Noodler´s Bulletproof Black ink and Uni Posca pen on grey drawing paper.

25 minutes well spent before leaving work today.

27 x 13 cm, PITT artist pens (fineliner and brush pens) on HandBook sketchbook spread.

This weekend spring got serious in Stockholm. I sat down by the water at Slussen, jacket open, no mittens, sun in my face, listening to the humming sound of conversations from passers-by. Used pencil for shading, for once, and added a few highlights of white with a gel pen.

21,5 x 13 cm, PITT artist pen fineliner, pencil and gel pens in Moleskine Japanese album.

Another quick sketch, this time on my way from work. Had an unusual school day, went to a cinema with students and a colleague, and grabbed a coffee in the sun at Kungsgatan before heading home.

12,5 x 12,5 cm, PITT pens (fineliners and brush pens) and Staedtler coloured pens in HandBook sketchbook.

Drawing time has been scarce lately, but I try to squeeze in some sketching to and from work every now and then. This is a really quick one drawn in Fruängen, a suburb I pass on my way to work. I sometimes have to wait for a bus here in the mornings, and now that spring is here – no mittens! – I´d rather stay outside sketching instead of heading for a nearby café.

12,5 x 12,5 cm, PITT pens (both fineliners and brush pens) and coloured pencils in HandBook sketchbook.

I have been drawing a panorama of Slussen in Stockholm lately. Sitting in Gamla stan (Old town) you can see the whole area across the water. (Scroll above to see the whole image.) Since it´s been so cold during March, I have had to draw this at four different occasions, sitting between 30-45 minutes each time. Then my fingers were deep frozen and I had to go defrost in a nearby café.

I find Slussen so incredibly intriguing to draw, with it´s complex structure and many functions. There is people and traffic everywhere, trains, buses, cars, bikes and pedestrians are all competing for space. In the many tunnels (both walkways and traffic tunnels) the light is often fascinating, and the perspective is sometimes a real challenge. Plus the whole place is getting quite dilapidated but now, tiles are falling off the walls, it´s dusty and dirty, but still in constant use. To me this all adds to the interest I have of drawing here.

If you haven´t been to Stockholm, just so you can get an idea of the complexity of this place, here is a link to an Open Street Map view of Slussen (sort of the Wikipedia of maps, © OpenStreetMaps contributors).

66,5 x 14 cm, Staedtler and UniPin fineliners and Pitt Artist Big Brush pens on Moleskine Japanese album sketchbook.

I met with some friends at Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet (Museum of Natural History) today, to spend a day sketching. Still too cold outside, spring is playing hide-and-seek this year.

It is fascinating with all the animals, bugs, skeletons and whatnot in this museum, and for someone who does not draw animals very often, it is very good practice to sketch in here. I found a department today that I never visited before – the Polar area. Turned out polar bears are harder to draw than… CARS, even. I tried five times, but my bears look either like cuddly teddy bears, cougars or dogs…

All drawings: 13 x 13 cm, Namiki Falcon with Platinum Carbon ink or Staedtler fineliner, and watercolours in HandBook sketchbook.