Nina Johansson

Another drawing from Rome. Top left is not my work, it´s a ticket to the old Fori Imperiali (don´t know if that´s grammatically correct, but you know the area I´m talking about). Goodlooking, though.

17 x 20 cm, Lamy Safari with Noodler´s Lexington grey ink and watercolours on Fabriano Rosapina paper (sketchbook page).

We went to Rome for a week to get a taste of spring. End of February is when you start craving spring in Stockholm, so Rome seemed like a perfect choice. We got some really warm and sunny days, and didn´t get any of the horrible storm over Europe. (Click the images for a larger view.)

My baggage got lost during the flight, though, and when I got it back after four days all my make-up (not that much, but still) and my Noodler´s Lexington Grey ink was gone. I can understand the ink, but I´m still wondering who took my old make-up…

17 x 20 cm, Lamy Safari with Noodler´s Lexington Grey ink and watercolours on Fabriano Rosapina paper (sketchbook pages).

We drove 700 kilometers today, through a cold and snow-covered Sweden. I grabbed the opportunity to do some sketching in the car, since I was not the one driving at the moment.

15 x 8 cm, pencil on Fabriano Rosapina paper (sketchbook page).

It´s been quiet here for a while, I had to make an unplanned journey to my old hometown Umeå. Unfortunately I didn´t have much time for drawing up there, but waiting for flights at Arlanda and Umeå airports gave me some excellent opportunities to take the sketchbook out of the bag and get some People Practice. I need it badly…

13 x 18 cm, Lamy Safari pens with Noodler´s Lexington Grey, Fox Red and Hunter´s Green ink on no-name sketchbook paper.

This is where we spent our two days in Värmland – in a small red cottage with white corners, the archetype of Swedishness. The weather was fantastic, Swedish summer at it´s best, and the only thing that disturbed the idyll was the fact that I can´t spend more than 24 hours in a place like this before my allergy goes berserk.

18 x 15 cm, Copic Multiliner SP and watercolours on Fabriano Artistico hot press watercolour paper.

We took a two-day trip to Värmland, in Western Sweden, towards the border of Norway, where my in-laws live. The road there isn´t too interesting if you have seen it a few times, but here and there it curves so nicely through the hills and the forests, like a soft ribbon, and I just had to try to capture it on paper.

13 x 10 cm, Pitt artist brush pens on Fabriano Artistico hot press watercolour paper.