Yesterday was spent in the screen print studio of Pål Gunnes at his beautiful farm in the forest of Siljan, working with prints for our Norwegian Made project. We feel so lucky to know Pål and to be able to use his skills and expertise. These prints will be turned into pillows, pouches and kitchen towels, which we will sell to endorse our support-the-makers project Norwegian Made. We hope to be able to open our web shop this fall where we'll sell these Norwegian Made promo products. 
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These days we're sending out our Norwegian Made bookmarks. We would very much like you to be part of our community reclaiming traditional norwegian values and we need your help to spread the word. If you want to be a Norwegian Made ambassador please let us know and we'll send you a gift as a token of appreciation along with some promo material. 
This is my tuesday morning portrait class. This week we were working with the grisaille layer of the portrait - the layer where we work up the values of the face using just paine's grey and white. Next week we'll start painting with the full palette, using all the colors of the color wheel. That's when it starts to look like something.  The concentrated ambiance of people deeply focused, is something quite special. Afterwards one feels tired but so welcomely recreated! 
 Our family are foragers - we really like to harvest what earth has to give us, all for free. These days nature is bounty full when it comes to mushrooms. And all four of us are having a blast!   
Some years ago I planted a few hydrangea bushes in my garden and finally they are blossoming big time. I just love the shape of these flowers and their various shades of pink. 
These days we work vehemently with our new (well, relatively..) project Norwegian Made. Our company's goal is to raise the interest in handcraft and design produced in Norway. You can read more about Norwegian Made on our homepage norwegianmade.com or on Instagram. You also find us on Facebook. 
Norwegian Made is all about the story behind the products. We want to give you a glimpse into the workshops, to show you the love and dedication the norwegian produced handcraft is made with. 
Norwegian Made is Cathrine Wefall and myself. We will travel around the country, telling the makers stories. The photo is from yesterday's Norwegian Made road trip. We feel so lucky to be able to call this work!  Autumn is a season of bounty, when nature gives generously and we are free to harvest and enjoy.  In our garden we have planted three plum trees and they give us so many gifts every year, more than we have been able to eat. This autumn we wanted to find a use of the plum surplus and we looked for a recipe for plum jam. The one we chose, told us to remove the stones, cut them in 4 and cook them in the oven, together with brown and white sugar + a cinnamon stick and some star anise. Super simple and highly recommended! Here is the recipe: 2 kilos of plums, remove the stones, cut in 4 and put them in your biggest roasting pan 1 kg sugar (200 gr brown, 800 gr white) 1 cinnamon stick 1 star anise Cooks in the oven on 150 degrees Celsius for approximately 1 hour. Stir now and then. Put the jam on clean, small glasses and write a nice tag if you feel like it. This jam tastes great alone on toast, or on top of some french cheese. It is a fantastic gift to give to a dear friend!  Enjoy! 
These days I'm working with the Exhibition of Telemark - a juried exhibition where all the artists from the region of Telemark are invited to enter maximum 3 works. This exhibition is 50 years old, and represents a great opportunity for professional and non-professional artists to have their art considered by an external jury. Yesterday, 66 persons came to deliver their artwork, and today we expect something of the same. I entered two of my screen prints, and I'm really excited to see what the jury thinks of them! 
These are photos from our summer workshop in plain air painting at Tangen farm - this most lovely place on earth, where motives abound and all the noises of civilization are far, far away. 
Planning and preparing my workshop in plain air painting at Tangen farm these days. This old place is full of charming remnants of the past and there are motives literally everywhere! A huge part of learning how to paint is about finding your subjects - what appeals to you so much that you will dedicate quite a bit of your time to make art of it. So one part of a workshop like this is about opening your eyes to the not-so-obvious beauty of life and accessing your heart to find out what really moves you. I'm looking so much forward to these days at Tangen! 
This single feather, not quite sure why I like it so much, something to do with the fact that it's a natural object which has had such great influence on the written word and thereby on civilization, I think. This motive is part of my plan for screenprints this autumn. I simply can't wait! 
My daughter Erle is my favorite model. From she was a wee little baby I've photographed and drawn and painted her. She's not always so happy with me looking at her as a motive, but she's normally very patient and cooperative when I say "Hold it right there!" and run for my camera. Thank you my sweet! 
Today was a good day, making goodie bags for NorwegianMade. These colors these beautiful flowers this beautiful life.. 
I love garlands. I don't know why exactly, it's something about that circular form and the plants involved I think. Anyway, a garland always gives me a good feeling. 
Today was another fine day of summer: watercolor sketching, roses, coffee and a screen printed, black & white table cloth. Who could ask for more?? 
As an artist, for me summer holiday is no good reason to relax. Because I love to work. It's simply what I like the most in this world. So when the motive above appeared I immediately photographed it and started to think how I'll use it: will I make a watercolor or a screen print or an oil painting or a pencil drawing of this? Time will tell! 
The other day I felt like making a still life. I set it up on the floor because I wanted the background to be white. And I had a good time doing it! Have a great day! |
M A R I T S A X E G A A R D
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Information about my workshops here. 
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All
May 2016
See more pictures from last years workshop here
See my fineart photography here.
"Fine works of art never age, because they are marked by genuine feeling. The language of the passions, the impulses of the heart, are always the same."
Delacroix |
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