Just did a little sketch about some creatures I came across, not sure, think the ears are not like the Elfs, but who knows…
Sketch of ferrytale creatures
Sketch in my Moleskine notebook, ink and watercolor
Jul 142010
What happens when angry people meet in the middle
Running towards the middle
Download the free larger print version here from Flickr
Drawing by Frits Ahlefeldt – free to download and use
May 022010
sketching on Bornholm, 2 maj 2010 – Sandvig
Feb 042010
Yesterday (3 February 2010) I was out in the snow, sketching with my Moleskine book. Even though it was freezing cold I still managed to get a few sketches down before the water froze on the paper.
I was out there for around 5 hours, doing a few sketches and this little video of my walk:
My Moleskine book in the snow
Sketching snow tracks in the snow
Here are some of the sketches from the walk (approx. 5 hours )
Sketch of a tree
sled riding kids
As I was working I started getting the small ice crystals in the paint, as it can be seen here (vague)
I did a few more:
Woman with her dog
Finally I did this experiment, sketching a guy that passed by me, fast in watercolors to work with the way they froze: (Click on the image to see it large size)
Guy that passed by me, watercolors
Good day out sketching, even though the temperature was around 1-5 degrees Celsius
I especially like the change when the water is not drying up, but freezing – even though it gives a bit of trouble when the papers are put on top of each other (as can be seen in the last one)
Jan 222010
Today (22 January 2010) I decided to try out sketching in the zoo, haven’t done that for ages… or at least weeks
First few sketches I did standing in the cold wind, had a bit problems as the water froze on the paper, without drying, and mixing colors were hard as it all became ice faster than I could put the layers on the paper.
But good part was that the structure, made by the freezing water on the paper – did ad a bit of texture:
Copenhagen Zoo, Moleskine sketchbook, Frozen watercolors and ink
Did a few more sketches outside, that was total disasters, before I went inside and visited the Chimpanzees :
Sketches of Chimps
And a Kameleon – very strange creature…
Kameleon, Moleskine sketch, Watercolor and Ink - Copenhagen zoo
Last I went on to the new Foster Elephant House and sketched the elephants there:
Fast ink sketch - Moleskine
And the last sketch today:
Elephant sketch, Moleskine, Copenhagen Zoo
That was my sketches today, I am still working on the techniques, and combining and practicing the balance between walking and sketching
Today (21 January 2010) I did a walk with my Moleskine sketchbook and watercolors, to the old Hippie world of Christiania, where the Hippies still try to live according to the dreams they agreed on, almost 40 years ago.
Here are my watercolor sketches from today:
Small hippie shop in Christiania - Copenhagen
By mistake I burned the sketch in the edge, when I tried to dry it on one of the open fires they have on the street
Two guys talking between a couple of large wood sculptures
It was freezing cold, lots of snow on the ground and my hands getting numb, so decided to go inside on a small cafe called “the moon-fisher” for a glas of tea.
The Hippie cafe "moon fisher" at Christiania (Moleskine sketch)
Back outside, I was heading down to the water, starting to sketch the amazing houses at Christiania
Christiania house between the old Copenhagen defense earth walls
Getting all the way down to the water, it was frozen and brave parents where trying to clear the snow from the lake to make a small ice skating area for the kids, while the low winter sun where disapearing behind the city (last watercolor sketch)
Kids ice skating in front of the Christiania houses down to the lake
It have been a cold day, today, but great to be outside and start to experimenting with combining walking with watercolor sketching in my Moleskine sketchbook… again
Oct 282009
Seven rough sketches from my notebook
Today I went out to the airport with my daypack and watercolors to get a bit of practice.
First I hang out a bit at the Starbrucks cafe, an airport is a special place and I kind of enjoy watching people arrive and leave for far away destinations.
I was out to check my gear and do a few sketches, and prepare for longer hikes. So it was just a short hike, to a small fishing village close by, called Dragoer.
With me I had my Moleskine sketchbook and my watercolors, here are the sketches before the rain made me find shelter in a small cafe’ with warm applepie and good tea. Here are the rough sketches from today:
Started out from the Copenhagen Airport
Worked with ink, experimenting with using watercolors with the ink.
Walking along the fence
The beginning was filled with impressions from the large scale of the planes and a lot of noise.
The Oresund Bridge
Ate lunch looking out at the huge bridge, quiet autumn weather, looked like rain, but still dry
Fishing village in front of me
The ferries to Sweden used to leave from out there, but now the bridge is there the ferries have gone
Following a small path along the water
The houses along the water was both beautiful and old, I really liked the next one:
Strange narrow house overlooking the coastline
Went back to pure watercolors for this one, think that is still my favorite way to work…
About this time it started to rain and I went into the village and waited for the paper to dry on a small cafe.
Street in the village
I did the last sketch, when I found a place where I was almost out of the rain.
The sketches today was a bit different as I used more ink than I normally do, nice to get back out and get back to the notebooks
Sep 182009
After being in the troll-forest for a few days I just did a short walk today, where I did a couple of sketches
First one is from a small moor, where there was dragonflies everywhere. I tried to work more freely with the motives, and the dragonflies moved so fast I couldn’t get the details anyway…
Fast loose sketch - Moleskine
I haven’t been on that spot since I was a kid, around 30 years ago, and it was kind of magic to go back to a place where I used to spend hours looking at Salamanders and Dragonflies
Looking at Dragonflies
Afterwards I went along the streets to a place where the old horse carriages, that take people for rides in the woods here on Sundays, still stand.
The old drivers must have been there for countless years
The old drivers looked like they had been there for many, many years. Most of them were over seventy – or maybe eighty, and I bet most of them had past there fifty years anniversary.
Watercolor of one of the old Drivers, contemplating
The drivers were hanging out in the sun – There where five to eight of them – all old men, sitting in their carriages waiting for customers, that never came, while discussing grandchildren and hunting dogs.
Sep 112009
15km. of walking and a few experimental sketches in my Moleskine today
Door in one of the old industrial mills along the stream
After working with illustrations all morning, I have been twisting a bit around today, as I tried to find my balance between watercolors, ink and pencil in my work, and also keep a rhythm between walking and painting on my hike. So on the painting part I felt challenged today.
But the walking was superb with beautiful trails along 600 years old Oak trees and a small quiet stream (Moelle-aaen – Denmark) and all the way, forest and soft, easy walking. I also came by quite a few mills today. And it kind of stroke me that when the motives are really nice and romantic, they are so much harder to do – almost like the classic trouble of painting a sunset – that is really, really difficult as it almost always ends up looking like a very poor copy of the real thing.
Here are a selection of my Moleskine sketches from today:
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- Old industrial mill, with quiet atmosphere
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- Just by a little bridge crossing the stream – going into the dark forest
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- Opposite the tree sat an old man, I think he sit there every day and look at this tree
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- Oak trees can get very old, these where just around 600 years…
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- At the edge of the forest
Sep 072009
Two Moleskine notes about Petrov’s drawings for the Hemingway animation movie
My moleskine study of Petrov's sketches for the Hemingway film - The old man and the Sea
I stumbled across the Russian animator: Alexander Petrov and his sketches and stills for his Animated version of “The old man and the Sea” (Ernest Hemingway). The approx. 20 minutes animation film took Alexander Petrov two years (1997-1999) to make and the artwork consisted of more than 29.000 frames. Petrov used a very time-consuming and difficult technique, where he used hand painted pastel oil paintings on glass for each frame.
study of Alexander Petrov sketches - Hemingway
Alexander Petrov won an Oscar (Academy Award for Animated Short Film) for the film in 1999 and also several other awards. And the movie is no doubt one of the most amazing piece of animation ever made by one artist.