Blue details from the studio.

The last few days I have been working on backgrounds. I wanted to get my hands dirty and just play. Today however it is time to get going with the half finished paintings I have and get the final details done on a few birds. I have also included some detail pictures from two of the paintings.

I always listen to something while I paint; our local radio channel from home, music or audio books. A few days ago I found a new band from Iceland, Árstíðir, and if you like folk music and beautiful male voices, I highly recommend them! My audio book playing now is the trilogy 'The deed of Paksenarrion' by Elizabeth Moon. Time just flies when you are listening to something good! 

Today I finally got a good picture from this new painting that I already posted on Facebook. Now I can also post it on my website, and upload it to Society6 for prints and phone cases. I call it 'Evening lookout', and it is an Azure-winged magpie painted from my own reference photo. 30x30cm, acrylic, oil and different papers on canvas. This is the first painting that I also have used some book pages from the book I bought in Japan in the background. Last when I was to Korea I bought a used Harry Potter book in korean, so soon I will be using pages from that as well. I have had people commenting on the chinese book pages and poems I use, criticizing the use of them. After explaining that I am actually living in China for the moment, they think it is fine. I never use random material, I choose material I have a personal connection to in some way. And one of the things that I have started collecting are books from all the countries that I visit, because I love using them in my collage backgrounds!