The artistic expression

My fascination and admiration with the visual artistic expression began when I was a little kid. I envied all artists who had the ability to visualize a feeling in any manner. I remember how I could be left standing in a shop window for a video store, to see the posters of Rambo or Stars Wars for example. Or anything created by Drew Struzan for that matter. I was imprisoned.

I also remember the experience of seeing the paintings by Norman Rockwell for the first time. I can make a long list of all the artists I discovered over the years. Even today I can enjoy some of my early favourite artists. Many of those I discovered early on I’ve nowadays managed to ”see through” somehow, while others still retain my admiration.

Developing skills

Artistic abilities begin quite similarly at an early age, but with the years, few are distinguished by sticking out a little extra. Most start with drawing in black and white with pencil to later dare to both draw and paint in color with brushes and pencils. I have tried everything, which I also think most artists do before they find their manners that best match what they want to express in shapes and colours.

My artistic development if we can call it so, went from drawing in black and white. With pencils, charcoal crayons and markers, to drawing and painting in colour with pastel pens, oilpastel pens, watercolour pens. And finally to use brushes and painting knives etc  with watercolour, gouache, acrylic, ink and finally oil paints.

Hyperrealism

Besides this, I dedicated about 10 years to developing skills in airbrush technique. This was to develop the realism in my paintings into hyperrealism. As for most people when it comes to an idea of ​​what might be the extreme of skill, the goal of perfection is absolute hyperrealism. My belief in this was the same until I realized in the upper secondary school that this way of going ironically was limiting my achivements as an artist.

Very quickly I achieved such high realism in the paintings I created and also realized that my paintings began to resemble the paintings of my role models, which would also lead to an anonymity in the artistic expression that is ”photographic”. Since then I have left that way of looking at pictures to instead develop my artistic personality that no one should mislead me for.

Painting with oils

To this day painting in oils has become my absolute favourite medium. It’s the real deal. I find oil colours to be the best medium to work in because it’s simply the most versitile. Working in other painting mediums, like acrylics or watercolours they have their definite limitations compared to oil paints. It’s a lot easier to simulate acrylic characteristics with oils rather than vice versa for example.

Below I have started to post paintings that I consider as complete. More paintings are ready to finish and as soon as they are ready you will see them here.