The sun..

..suddenly poked down with its pretty face upon us today and it was time to do a bit of skiing in the immediate surroundings..

..to check all the animal tracks..

..that had been left in the snow over night.

There were deer tracks..

and plenty frolicking imprints of rabbit and hare..

..and of rats, blackbirds and I found a catwalk in the garden.The cat had torn down my garbage bag with shrimp shells which I had hanged high - too lazy to walk the 100 meters to the can in the dead of night. Today I also removed some dead mice from the traps - a thing I truly dislike. I am quite fond of mice - but this is necessary. I know.

In the afternoon, time for tea and some painting. I am doing oil right now and the house smells pleasently of lindseed oil.The days are getting longer now. And we have daylight to well after 4 PM now. I can tell you that makes a diffrence! I have almost forgotten how to spell spring:
s-p-r-a-n-g!!! Sprong? Wrong?
Spring spring spring
Repeat after me... :-)

My first Macaroons!

For a long time now I have been dying to make my own Macarons-

the very pastry "soooo much in fashion" for the moment - according to the media.

So today, a grey and windy day that no one in ther right mind really felt like spending outdoors, I finally had a go at it!
Oh my, if I had only known the amount of how butter-sugar-calorie-rich they were!

They did not turn out half as pretty as I had wanted them to! But for a first go....
at least they tasted well. Next time I´ll grind the almonds into a much finer flour. That might do the trick! The thing is: I have never, ever been able to make meringues rise the way they should. To the shape of small bowler hats..
How on earth do the professionals do it?

Last time I had macaroons was in Washington DC. I know they cost a fortune each, but what a delicacy! The various perfumes of rose, hazel and pistacio!
(No! Wrong! The last time I had a macaroon was last fall at the Truffle-Lagotto-Romagnolo farm here in Gotland. A truffle macaroon!)
This little chef here, by the way, I found at the Red Cross fleamarket
(for a about a dollar) the other day.
He had a very ugly/silly expression on his face (thus the price?) so I gave him a total facial makeover with some oil paint and named him Paul Bocuse after the famous chef below.

I hope he does´t mind. Bocuse that is.
I do not intend to do anything to his grim looks though!

The Wiki on Macrons:
A macaron is a sweet confectionery made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring. The macaron is commonly filled with buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies. Its name is derived from an Italian word "maccarone" or "maccherone". This word is itself derived from ammaccare, meaning crush or beat, used here in reference to the almond paste which is the principal ingredient. It is meringue-based: made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour, and both granulated and confectionery sugar.

The confectionery is characterized by its smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the "foot"), flat base, mildly moist and easily melted into mouths.

Macarons can be found in a wide variety of flavors that range from the traditional (raspberry, chocolate) to the new (truffle, green matcha tea). The fillings can range from jams, ganache, or buttercream. Since the English word macaroon can also refer to the Coconut macaroon, many have adopted the French spelling of macaron to distinguish the two items in the English language. However, this has caused confusion over the correct spelling of the cookie. Some recipes exclude the use of macaroon to refer to this French confection while others think that they are synonyms.

How they make them at Sucre´.

And here is a photo and link to my favourite "Macaroon Blog": Paris Breakfasts!

Isaac´s flowers:

Swedish artist Isaac Grunewald (1889-1946)

painting in his studio in his Villa Grunewald situated close to Stockholm.

Here are some examples of his lovely flower paintings.

Here are some more..

..of my recent paintings and art work from way back. Some are water colors and others are oil paintings.
I adore the Swedish painter Isaac Grunewald. Here I am trying to capture his great style as a source of inspiration - his flowers makes my heart beat faster and sic! I will never be able to buy one of his paintings! So here we go..(above)
This one I painted this week and it is still not dry.

Working in the Sudan, I loved to visit Omdurman. Water color.

Khartoum heat at noon. Time for prayers.

Reflections in glass alas! Sorry!

Menton, Cote d´Azur. Mimosa and smell of lemons.

Gaussian Blurr. Collage

Water color. Or aquarelle as we call it. Akvarell in Swedish.

The beating heart. Passion in oil.

Water color from Sandhamn.

Marine inspiration with text and sea shells. Water color.

"In the mist" - the time when all sunds are muffled. Painted on a used children´s billboard I found in the garbage. Gilded the frame. This one is my favourite and it hangs over my white sofa in the living room of the Gotland farm. I always feel a sence of harmony when I look at it..
Well, so many styles are represented. I hope you liked at least some of them!

Hanging in limbo today..

..not being sure if I identify with the ladies in the background or the passing lady up front..

While trying to figure this out I had a go at some more untraditional angles to my present creative mood ..

Helloooo...?

Trad excercise and pretty interiors:

Some days ago my oil paint box saw a bit of daylight again when I opened it after many months when I decided to have a go at a VERY traditional painting of some old farmhouses in the very last sunrays of a folding summer day.

This is the result.
It makes me giggly because I tried do hard to make it look like a traditional old fashioned country painting. I am actuallty seriously considering to break down the surface with somber glaze - just for the experimental kick of it all.
This old farmstead with buildings from between 1700/1800 in Hablingbo southern Gotland is a museum. I just love its pretty interiors and the well kept garden with plants and roses that are long lost and forgotten. Needless to say, I have a hard time to stop myself from stealing seeds when visiting Petesgården! These pictures of the farm build around 1800 are from Antikvärlden.

Interiors from Petesgården - Pete´s farmstead.

Petesgården is beautifully situated close to the sea on the S/W shore of Gotland.

All by myself!

Look grandma! I can eat all by myself!
Niki Isabella 5,5 months old.
(Photo: Pontus B)

A doll house installation:

January scenes from the doll house:

..or the tale of the new nanny who adored to play in the nude on the family grand piano.
(rather than to supervise the toddler´s potty training!)
Now...
The husband is sneeking into the library in the middle of:

Rachmaninoff Etude Op. 39 No. 6 "Little Red Riding Hood" .

(Valentina Lisitsa has nothing to do with the story )
His interest (sudden) in piano concertos is abruptly discovered by his wife, Nora..
And the dramatic epilude in the attic of the pretty dollhouse.
The nanny is left bruised still without clothes to ponder her inspired actions.
A blizzard is raging outside and the world is very cold.
Life can be so tough for the true artist..
Or to a faithful homemaker and housewife..

Could be just any soap opera taking place right there in the dollhouse on a cold January day!