Im getting so close..... Colored pencil drawing update + passe-partout.

I am quite excited right now, beacuse I see the big colored pencil drawing is coming to an end. I started this project as an easily approachable drawing exercise, where I could draw anything I like at any time and just watch it grow. What I discovered was that even though the start is loose, when the drawing starts to take shape, the intricacies of aesthetic judgement fires on all cylinders trying to tie everything up with a bow on top. At least for me. 

So this is where I went from the last post. Coloring in the top right side, to get a feeling for a complete form (at least on top). The I got an idea. I wanted some encouragement to actually finish the drawing, I needed something to box it all in.

Behold the passe-partout (digital reenacment)! I found a mat large enough to encapsulate the whole thing, turned and moved in around until I was happy with the framing, and drew a pencil line around the inside. Now I got the borders and it was a relief. Also a benefit from starting on a large enough sheet that makes it possible to capture the fields you like after you started drawing.

Here you can see the marks for the passe-partout so I can color the background a tad across the line, making sure I don't need to place the mat EXACTLY right. Leeway is bliss! And yeah, I went for a black background. We're in space baby!

I also added what maybe looks like easter eggs, but will hopefully function as holes into an patterned background when the picture is done. Withe bottom left finished I could add these holes on three corners, trying to get a feel for the whole idea.

Then I could evolve to the right side with markers.

Suddenly I saw that I could make an check mark shape at the bottom. So then I got obsessed with coloring all the patterns her in different greens. Don't know if this was a good idea, but this is a project all about just doing it, so why not...

I started seeing new patterns where the colors flow through the drawing, disappearing and resurface again. To make that happen and still don't make it all look like mush, that is my biggest challenge right now. Either way, this drawing will soon be done!

See you soon! :-)

Digital and analog blocks.

Whenever I need a break from drawing or indulging in too much of the 2D spectrum, I tend to turn to blocks. I've had Lego bricks since I was a small child and I have miraculously kept a lot of it still, wich I keep in three bedrollers. It is now a mix of my own old, my brothers Lego and some new sets since I started to build more with Lego in 2016. 

Here is a lighthouse I'm currently working on (with disco lights in the tower).

And a shot from the other side.

I was inspired when I got into Lego again and found out about their modular buildings. So I wanted my lighthouse to also be able to be disassembled between floors.

My brother introduced me to Minecraft in 2021, and I severely connected with it. Here is some picture of my first house build (in survival for those in the know).

I struggled with my fear of hights during the building of those front arches. Looking back at it now I chuckle, so I guess Minecraft can help with that phobia (also spiders) :-).

After some time guiding me through the the do's and don'ts my brother and I went full creative mode and designed a medieval city.

And I couldn't resist building a castle.

Right now I'm building two vehicles for R. R. Slugger's Lego summer happening wich he have kept doing for the last three years. This years theme is "Dryrites", pirates wich plunder on land instead of the seas. You can check out more in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1svGj_Pf7AI

This is the first time I participate, with a pirate scorpion track-driven vehicle and an arachnid abomination. 

It is all great fun, and if you would like to join and build something of your own to fit the theme, please do! The deadline is the 15th of august.

Have a great summer y'all!

From paper to thread.

 I designed a logo for Oslo Filmrullklubb (Oslo Film Roll Club), norways only 100% analog film club.

https://www.oslofilmrullklubb.no/

First I drew it on paper, then i scanned it in 600 dpi. The cursive script and the two film rolls where separate drawings, so that I could move these around digitally to find a nice balance in the design. The name of the club was typed in using a font (Myriad pro).

Then a buddy of mine imported the design into an embroidery machine, and after some trial and error, it appeared on a tote bag. 

I was not present during the making of these tote bags, but I would love to play around with that embroidery machine. I think it worked out wonderfully.

Coal collab.

 There are few things that beats barbecues, beers and drawing with good company. 

Halvor Aarak and I decided to be inspired by contortionists, and why not combine it with dental care?

Personal highlights from the Venice Biennale 2026.

My first trip to the Venice Biennale this May was a blast! I did not know what to expect, but I got so much more than I could imagine of intriguing works of art, historical architecture, food and all the things inbetween. Even though I got home three days ago, I still haven't quite landed yet and I guess I won't for some time. And theres still many pavillions and artwork I didn't have time to check out so maybe, just maybe I will return for a second blissful experience. This post will highlight some of the works I enjoyed the most, and I guess will stay with me forever. If you'd like to read more, please check out this webpage: https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2026

The first day it was a little rainy, so I went for the long showroom at the Arsenale first wich was indoors.

The Moroccan pavillion presented woven works from Amina Agueznay.

Beautiful knitted work at the Uzbekistan pavillion by A.A.Murakami.

Outside of the Arsenale I totally fell for this piece by Philip Aguirre (Belgium).

The last two days had better weather, so I went to the Giardini and off course visited the Nordic pavillion with this piece by Norway's Tori Wrånes.

As an old graffiti artist the german pavillion with a facade made by mosaic tiles by Sung Tieu intrigued me.

The huge interactive work by Ei Arakawa-Nash (Grass babies, Moon babies) at the Japanese pavillion was both fun and thought provoking.

Shoutout to Alma Allen at the US pavillion. I really endulged in these sculptures.

The spanish pavillion was bombarded with postcards gathered through flea markets over twenty years! Oriol Vilanova really made me think about what kind of images we use to communicate.

Right outside the Giardini you can find the Marinaressa Gardens. It's two smaller gardens filled with stupidly good sculptures here showing Avetis Sargsyan's "Loss of self".

Olga Lomaka's "Dreaming Miki".

And now my personal favourite :-). I have never before been weak in the knees and just standing still with my mouth open when looking at artworks, but this...  This work called "Permanent address" by Sumakshi Singh at the Indian pavillion was just jaw-droppingly beautiful.

Thousands of small embroidered threads make up this architectural piece wich resembles a memory of a home. I'm lost for words.

If you have the means, please don't sleep on this years Biennale. You won't regret it!

Colored pencils update + Swatches!

So I've had this huge sheet of paper layin across my desk so that I can draw any time I'd like.

And the last few weeks I actually made some progress. Stopping by from time to time to continue coloring and maybe draw some new lines. I still have no idea where this will go, but interestingly enough the drawings starts to take the shape of a heart... Oh yeah, and that troublesome line, turned out to be some kind of leg.

I've also added som new colors to my collection, mostly leftovers from different acquaintances. During this experimentational process I decided to make swatches (small color-samples) from every one of them. This helped me a lot with choosing colors cause not every colored pencils is marked with the exact color it produces on the paper.

First I made swatches at random and maybe matching colors tonally. But I made the swatches one more time categorizing the after wich brand the where. This made it a lot easier for me to find the right pencil in the myriad of pencils.

I started on the upper left side. Since I'm right handed this will prevent me from dragging to much color around with my arm. I found it nice to match the colors used on the different shapes with eachother. So that the shapes can work together visually. But I left some areas blank. For these I can choose any color I like, so I leave them until more of the great shapes are done. This way I can pick a olor that's right for the whole composition in these areas instead of making a choice I might regret right away.

Suddenly I was presented with a problem. The area highlighted in the first picture below was surrounded with colors on every side, and I needed to make this area work in harmony with the rest of the designs. So I started with the most isolated area from the other colors and the tried to imagine how I could "fuse" everything together. 

The solution was to make some new shapes with the colored pencils alone and mix some kind of 3D- and 2D-designs.

This is how it looks like right now. Until next time :-)

More sketchbook!

From my commute: