Nina Johansson

Six sketchers gathered at Citykonditoriet in central Stockholm yesterday,  for the 34th International Sketchcrawl – two new faces and a few “veterans”. We had a plan to move on to a museum, but decided to stay put – this café has lots of funny details to draw, and the lunch crowd tends to stay on for a while, so we had lots of opportunities to draw people.

Thank you Johanna, Charlotte, Anna, Pat and Riber for making this day a great one!

Top drawing: 20 x 18 cm, Namiki Falcon with Platinum Carbon black ink and watercolours on Arches Satinée 300 g watercolour paper.
Bottom drawing: 20 x 16 cm, technique as above but without the watercolours.

It´s time to tell what this December post was all about: I had the honor of doing the drawing for the spring program poster for the Tellus cinema theater in my neighborhood, and now it´s printed and out there. I sat in a shop window across the street from the cinema drawing this, it was a bit too cold for drawing outdoors.

Tellus bio is a super cozy place, a little cinema from the thirties, now run by a small organisation of local people. Apart from watching movies, you can come here to have a coffee, play board games, hear a lecture, listen to after work jazz, see a concert, join a life drawing session… It´s a great place for meeting people, and a true gem of Stockholm´s history.

Size A3 (29,7 x 42 cm), Namiki Falcon with Platinum Carbon black ink, and watercolours on Arches 640g watercolour paper.

My December challenge is done, and I am overwhelmed by all the encouragement I have had by YOU! I have had so many nice comments, emails and Facebook interaction during this month, it´s been so much fun. I am afraid I will not be able to keep up this pace in posting on my blog, but I feel very inspired to draw, and I have a few sketching ideas that I want to realise during 2012.

I did draw something today too, but instead of posting that, I am taking the opportunity to share my very first sketching video. I have been wanting to do these for a long time, and finally got around to it yesterday. I love watching others draw, and figured I would try to capture my own process too.

I wish all my readers and friends a Happy New Year, I hope 2012 will bring you lots of drawing joy! : )

Looking out the kitchen window this time. A splendid winter´s day today, but without the snow. Only one day left of my December challenge. And of 2011.

21 x 16 cm, Namiki-Falcon with Platinum Carbon ink and watercolours on Arches Satinée 300 g watercolour paper.

Peeking out the little door viewer in our apartment door, this is what I see – a Stockholm staircase from the forties. A bit gloomy right now, since it´s dark outside.

My smaller sketchbook didn´t quite reach all the way through December, I finished it with yesterday´s drawing, so I´m continuing in the large book.

Approx. 18,5 x 18,5 cm, Namiki-Falcon with Platinum Carbon ink on Arches Satinée 300 g watercolour paper.

Traveling day today, we have been out of town for a few days for Christmas. When we got home, this little fellow had woken up. It´s been standing in window for a few weeks not making much noise at all (or whatever it is that flowers do), but suddenly it seems to know that it´s time. Isn´t that kind of magical? I love amaryllises, their process from bulb to a huge flower is so beautiful.

17,5 x 12.8 cm, Snowman ink pen and watercolours on Plano drawing paper.

Posted one hour late, due to the above mentioned party. : )

17,5 x 12.8 cm, Snowman ink pen and watercolours on Plano drawing paper.

Mum´s orchids are always beautiful, and I´m secretly trying to find out what she does to please them.

17,5 x 12.8 cm, Snowman ink pen and watercolours on Plano drawing paper.

Just a short one today. In Sweden (and some other countries, I´m sure) we celebrate Christmas on the 24th, so not much time for the computer. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! : )

17,5 x 12.8 cm, Snowman ink pen and watercolours on Plano drawing paper.

I haven´t drawn anything in the sketchbook today. Instead I have been working on this bigger drawing/painting, of which this is just a tiny (enlarged) sneak peek. It´s a commission, but I don´t want to let you know what it´s for just yet.

It´s interesting to enlarge drawings like this. I know my lines are kind of wobbly, especially with the Namiki-Falcon with it´s super-flexy nib, but this looks half crazy! : )

And if you have any idea of what this is, don´t write about it in the comments, please. Thanks.

Approx. 7,5 x 9,5 cm, Namiki-Falcon with Platinum Carbon ink and watercolours on 600 g watercolour paper, probably Saunders-Waterford.