Yes! Let's be creative!

Making an illustration is in many ways similar to going on a shamanic journey; I have an idea about where I'm going but what happens when I draw, only time will tell. Magic unfolds; characters appear, they want to be in the picture. I am excited because I don't know what happens next! What will appear suddenly in a minute!? I laugh! A cat! Hah! It is so funny and whimsical.

With this years' Christmas card I wanted to show a certain madness of cozy "hygge" time. The scene is set in a cozy cottage with the two main figures going beserk over creating christmas decorations! Magic happens when we just let go and let ourselves be creative. I find that the winter and especially Christmas time is perfect for that.

A Scandinavian childhood

I have friends who live in south and in north of Sweden and when I made the scenery for outside the window, I thought about these warm homes and the view from their windows. I like round carpets like the one under the table. I also had a round carpet under the Christmas tree. I recall this tradition from my Christmases in Denmark.
I know the feeling I want to create with my card. It comes from childhood books and illustrations of Nordic landscapes and indoor life. I think people from all over Scandinavia recognize this feeling. That part of me is familiar, where I grew up and had my Christmases as a child. It is this familiarity that I try to explain in this year's Christmas artwork. The windows are familiar, the chairs, the people. That's what I want to give with my art: a familiar cozy welcome-ness.

How did I make the illustration? 

First I draw what's in the centre of the picture where all the action happens from. In this case it was a round table. Everything else is added on from there.
I have 2 main sketches of the scene; one in my head and one on paper, and together they create the final image. But I don't know everything. I often ask the picture itself what it wants to do next when I am stuck.
It takes two full days to create a detailed illustration such as this one. I don't worry too much about being correct in my lines, but I want the viewer to be able to understand what is happening in the picture even though it's busy.
I like to draw things that are a little impossible. That gets the imagination going. When you draw you can make up solutions that wouldn't work in reality. And it makes it even more fun!


I hope you enjoy the cards! I wish you a joyous wonder-full Christmas!

With love,

Just when I had decided to slow down and have a bit of a rest, my webshop gives me a pretty sweet offer for my friends, family & fans of my art! FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING on products in my shop (art prints, cups, pillows and more!) AND 5 DOLLARS (30 kroner) off every item in the shop! From NOW till NOVEMBER 9th! That means if you order before November 9th, you get the shipping for free no matter where you live AND every product you buy has a 30 kroner (5 USD / €4) discount! Every product! Pret-ty sweeeet!

All you have to do to get the free shipping and discounts is follow this link! Remember free shipping ends on November 9th 2014. So take your time to chose the best for you, your family and friends for Christmas or winter pressies :-D
* Free shipping is not included on my framed art prints or canvases. But there is free shipping on my art prints.


Let me show you some of my personal favourites right now. These are all available in the webshop and with FREE shipping!

Aww, I'm so proud and so thrilled! Today I get to announce 2 - TWO! - new listings in my webshop! I am super excited! Here are some lovely shots of my newest release, one 10 PACK of cards and 1 4 PACK of cards both now available in the shop! Yay yay yay! Hope you like them, and enjoy!

BIG Love,
Lone!

Hi readers,
It's been quiet here lately with family visiting and lots of new ideas brewing!

I couldn't believe my luck when a customer turned to me to order a pack of 10 cards! This has never happened to me before, and I feel so lucky and so proud! Today I worked on the photoshoot and very soon I will be publishing a "10 cards - 1 free" PACK for everyone!

PLUS!

Newsletter Videos for October 2014

If you haven't already seen my NEWSLETTER VIDEO - you must! I have never had so much fun telling about christmas cards and seasonal decorations! I hope you enjoy it.

Here is the ENGLISH version

and here is the DANISH version!

Enjoy!

I am very inspired by the people I walk amongst. The normal people. All the ordinary people. My cards are about these people. The dreamers, the mums, the dads, sisters and friends. We all have a little bit of something special inside. And I find it so unique and so interesting.

Recently a woman came to me, and asked me if I could make a card design for her to give to her newborn granddaughter. I thought this was a very special and powerful request. Because what are the gifts that we want to give to a new born child? A girl coming into this world, all new, all blessed.

As ever so often (thank you Universe!) the images that I create do not come from hours of thinking and drawing and creating. Most commonly they come from an inside place, and they stand out, they shine. When I see this picture inside I KNOW this is the right image. I see it and I can feel the image.

Then I start to sketch and draw what I see. And the first sketch is often very powerful. This sketch fixates the composition in the picture, who is in it, and where they are.

In so many ways this newborn girl (who is not yet born - but just getting ready!) is just like so many other girls being born. She has the same nose as most, the same eyes and the same body as most newborn girls. And then, in so many other ways - this girl is special! This girl is so unique with her own story, her own family tree and her own roots. In so many ways, there is none else quite like this girl - and that's what I wanted to express, with my card.

But I also wanted to express the love and support commitment from the Universe around this special girl. Inspired by Disney's Snowwhite and The Seven Dwarfs I found myself drawing an image much like the scene in the woods (if you remember the fim), where the animals stand watching. They are observing - they are watching. They are the witnesses of the birth as well as the human family. Perhaps they too are depictions of Spirit, like the Eagle in the tree, and the tree itself.

In this card I used a little bit stronger, darker colour than what I usually do in my watercolours.

Every girl is special. Every person is unique.

Here are pictures from my photo shoot and the final design.
The artwork A New Life is available in my webshop.

Do you remember these guys? This drawing was made on my retreat to north Sweden last October.
I am so happy to be announcing that the Bear Kissing greeting card is now sold out! Yes, it's true! So, so happy and grateful that so many people liked this particular design.
I, myself am happy with how the vibrant rainbow colours in the background turned out. It was a complete surprise to me! The last card was purchased in my webshop. Bye, bye, adjö... but don't you think we'll meet again? ;)

Sometimes it takes a while to fully understand something. I find that answering big questions like that right away, keeps me from discovering the real answer. A deeper answer. 

When my friend asked me this question, I felt that it was a question given to me by the Universe, not so much her. She was being Great Spirit asking me without judgement, without fear; "How do you see these images and relate them to your work?". 

Today, the penny dropped. The answer is that my illustrations and my larger canvases are two sides of the same coin. It's like comparing a one-liner stand-up comedy joke with a 300 pages long novel. They don't compare. In this way I am not saying that my illustrations are 'gone' the next minute - I for one believes that humour lingers on and on, and that the same joke can make us laugh throughout a life time.
And the larger scale images are something else. More intense. Deeper.
And they crave from me two different things. One is witty and simple. Quirky and light. The other is a long-time journey evolving as the painting itself is being made. It is a process of discovery, of finding a core and bringing it out from the deep.

It's all part of the same circle. Expressing and creating. Breathing.

New card design for Radiant Light Retreats, "Ladder". Do you like it?

I wanted to make a card design, a drawing for a woman I know, who was very ill. I thought about this a lot. How do I create something for someone who is dying?
Most of our greeting cards are based on "Get Well Soon" or "I am thinking of you", but in this case there is no getting better. There is no getting well.
So I thought about it a lot. I wanted to make a heartfelt card. One that wasn't superficial, one that wasn't like a lot of other cards. One that was really special, one that really meant something.

The truth is I never got around to it. In a very short time my friend was diagnosed with cancer, and in a very short time she died.

I guess not all questions can be answered easily. And for this post I have no pictures. Right now, there is no image that can explain this complexity. Living and dying goes hand in hand. And there aren't always words, there aren't always images.

But there is me. Living and breathing. Thinking. What is the greatest gift we have? It is life itself. No person, no thing, no relationship is bigger than that. Life itself is greater and will endure more. Even death.

On my run this morning I met the old chap on his ancient tractor with his little hat on. He smiled at me as I ran past, "Bonjour!". The time it took for the sun to climb up over the hills, was the time it took me to have a run round the fields. Olives and peaches. The hills were the same colour as my trainers. Pink.

I have a 100 followers on Instagram!

This is really sweet! I can't believe it, it is such a nice number! :) That made me happy and confident that people like what I am doing. That they want to see my art and follow my updates. I really enjoy taking pictures too, and I am excited about this particular community because it's based on photo sharing. So nice. And THANK YOU! Thank you Stars, Universe and Soul! This is amazing!

He sold some of my cards in his shop! 

He sold some of my cards in his shop! 

He sold some of my cards in his shop! 

Quiet Reflections

You've probably noticed that a lot more is happening on the blog now than before. I have been trying to 'work' this blog for a long time and I 've had a lot of questions and worries about it that kept me from blogging. To be truthful, I was afraid to blog. And afraid to share my thoughts. I wanted someone from the outside to come and tell me that I was doing alright.
In the meantime, I wasn't blogging. I was keeping to myself. A lot of thoughts, inspiration and ideas, just kept them to myself. In the end I got SO STUCK and felt so limited that I couldn't make anything work! Not in the studio, and I couldn't open up! I was shut down, holding back all this light (which it, essentially is, right?). I felt I was no good, my ideas weren't working. My flow wasn't there.
So what happened? I wrote down my thoughts about blogging. And I realized I had a lot invested in other people approving my work! As soon as I started to connect with that person inside me who really wants to blog, I noticed there are heaps of things she wants to talk about and communicate. And it doesn't matter if other people approve. I am not doing it for them - I am doing it for me! :D

Happy Sunday everyone!

Thank you for supporting me, thank you for making this happen!

Thanks for the love and nurturance I am surrounded with!

Tak for alle de dejlige besøg på Svenstrup Gods! Det varmer! Der er stadig enkelte pakker med julekort tilbage i webshoppen :) Jeg sender fra dag til dag.

Had a great time at the Christmas market at Svenstrup Gods! Thanks everyone who came and visited me - felt really good :) I still have a few of my lovely christmas cards left, in the webshop. I ship from day to day :)