After meeting Nina in Stockholm the Sunday evening, I took to the streets the next day. Unfortunately she couldn’t join me, since she had students waiting for her…why does work always interfere with pleasure? But she did give me directions to art stores which I had a ball visiting and buying some paints and “stuff”. I love small art shops, where you dig for everything. It is a little like treasure hunting. Because Nina’s work looks so beautiful with Schmincke and lately Laura and Bec had done marvelous work with them, I also wanted to try them. And so in this little treasure store I was given free reigns to the Schmincke drawers by the cute store owner. So cute that he even had me pay “old-method-swipe-credit-card-machine-way” because I didn’t have enough cash AND he even threw in a very nice colour catalogue.

Here are some architecture drawings of Stockholm, inspired by Nina’s love for her city. The day was too short to my liking and evening draped itself around me too suddenly but quite pleasantly, as is the case in Stockholm with all its tea lights and candles burning.

I gave these sketches watercolour washes back at the hotel, while waiting for Hartman to go out for dinner – a HIGHLIGHT every evening; I love having people serve me!

If ever I felt stupid in life, this would be one of those times; the first sketch is done in Schmincke and the other two in Winsor and Newton, which I mostly use in sketching. I have been comparing up and down, but don’t see (or feel) the difference between Schmincke and W&N. If anything, my first sketch looks messy and opaque(with Schmincke). Or maybe I was over zealous in playing around with it, which is probably closer to the truth. I’ll have to experiment a little more.

If you’re interested in knowing about these buildings and history and architecture and all things nice about Stockholm, you can google it. I am enjoying my glass of Bordeaux wine too much now to be accurate in factual recounting. What I can tell you, is that Stockholm is a magical city, I love it and my memories are magical.

All my sketches in Stockholm were done in my special WC sketchbook, with Fabriano WC paper; handmade by Marta. I am inspired to try my hand at making my own, I never knew working in a handmade book could give so much satisfation and delight, not to mention pride.

See Nina’s very different approach to this second sketch.