Ann Larsson-Dahlin, NAS Residency at the Nordic Watercolour Museum
by Anna Sörenson Rydh
Each year the Nordic Watercolour Museum in Skärhamn, Sweden, awards a residency to a member of NAS. Ann Larsson-Dahlin has been very productive even a few days into her residency which takes place in November 2023. She talks about trying to find the essence of the environment. The production period is very intense with lots of experiments – many of the paintings have been worked over again and again even though they look like thay have been painted in one go. Ann Larsson-Dahlin cannot be modest, mediocrity does not satisfy her and she must paint on large formats with large brushes or even apply paint with a toothbrush, a feather or a piece of string. She moves freely and skillfully between illustrative exactness and painterly playfulness. She wants us to see her own experience of nature, but she doesn’t feel like telling the whole story. Something must be open to the mind of the spectator. Even though she is humble towards her subject matters, she is a passionate yet unsentimental artist.

Visit to the Nordic Watercolour Museum
by Anna Sörensson Rydh
Anna Sörenson Rydh visited the Nordic Watercolour Museum during the preparations for the exhibition Process – On the joy of painting watercolour. On this occasion she met Anna Törnquist who is one of the exhibitors along with Lena Amstrand, Lars Eje Larsson, Hasse Karlsson, and Lars A Persson. They are all popular watercolour teachers as well as artists. The exhibition will focus in these artists’ teaching abilities and their different methods. They have all been filmed in their studio – we will be able to watch video projections of them working and talking about their materials and techniques. All five artists will be giving weekend courses during the exhibition period. Apart from the exhibition space, workspaces, and offices, the museum also comprises of five guest studio appartments to which artists from all over the world may apply for residencies. The whole museum is a lively and wonderful building placed in a beautiful environment. No wonder it was awarded “Museum of the Year” in 2010.

Uffe Christoffersen
by Marianne Gross
Tigers have been the main subject matter for Uffe Christoffersen for many years now. While studying at the Royal Art Academy in Copenhagen he often sketched wild animals at the zoo. Here he was especially captivated by the colourings of the tigers: they vary between stripes of black and ochre hues as well as white, and you may explain the contours of its body by the use of the stripes – whichever pose the animal strikes. His tigers are not photorealistic even though the lines and proportions are correct. The figures are quite loose, much like the ones you might find in the classic oriental illustrations, that he holds in high regard. Having been a teacher at the art academy’s colour lab he has an extensive knowledge of colour chemistry and colour theory, and he produces his own paint. For 28 years he lived in the south of France near the ochre mines. Here has has collected enough ochre of various hues to last him a lifetime, even though he also paints with many other colours that inspire him. His works have developed from mere studies of the animals to represent social interactions of all beings

Emma Prowse
by Maria Molin
During her daily walks with her dog Emma Prowse finds the inspiration for her textile designs. She now lives on the island of Gotland where works as a freelance designer and illustrator. Her designs are based on the actual shapes and colours of various plants and stones, but she doesn’t necessarily draw them directly; she just tries to convey the feeling and the impressions she gets when seeing them. She chooses subjects matters that appeal to her and then she elaborates on them using her imagination. When working on textile designs (for IKEA among others) she usually starts sketching with a pencil and felt pens. She need to see whether she has the right balance and rhythm for a textile design before starting her watercolour painting. Some of her watercolour works are more loose and without sketches, but then she often has to make adjustments digitally. When not painting for commisions but for her own sake she is mainly inspired by artists who are abstract and playful. She likes to leave room for randomly flowing painted areas creating patterns than run into each other.

Life with a dog – about the book by Mette Hellenes
by Line Ulekleiv
The focal point of Mette Hellenes’ book Le Printemps, l’été, l’automne, l’hiver is the strong bond between a human and a dog. It consists primarily of watercolour illustrations with small text supplement. The main characters ares the dogs Åse and later Gulli. The book shows their life in Oslo and their travels. Spring, summer, autumn, winter. The French title suggests a sophisticated and romantic nouvelle vague-film and by using the seasons as the turning point Mette Hellenes makes the dog a fixed star in the story of her life. The watercolour technique suits the format of this book. Mette Hellenes is a very skillful painter, and she uses the watercolour media to capture the essence of her dogs. She varies between a raw, expressionistic style and a more poetic one creating charm and beauty on every page. The book is amusing, sad, and brutal – an epic journey, a impressionistic depiction of life with a companion dog in a visual poem.

Presentation of Members of ECWS – The European Confederation of Watercolour Societies | Estonian Watercolour Society
by Marianne Gross
The Estonian Watercolour Society is a non-profit, vol­untary, and politically independent creative organisation of professional watercolour artists representing contem­porary watercolour painting. The aim of the society is to encourage and support the creative activity of its members and to help the artists to develop their profes­sional skills. The organization is committed to promot­ing Estonian watercolour painting nationally as well as internationally and to create a wide public interest for watercolour art. In 2019 it was EWS’s turn to host the annual ECWS Ex­hibition and Symposium which in this year took place at he Estonian seaside resort, Haapsalu. The symposium offered the choice of participating in various interesting work­shops and events. The participants also had the opportunity to go on interesting sightseeing and paint­ing outings in the region and to meet up with old friends and new acquaintances all sharing a passion for the wonderful art of watercolour painting.