River Lethe

There is a lot of news this time. First of all, you will see that there are a couple of new pencil drawings finished, and one work in progress.

NEW EXHIBITION IN PROGRESS

A part from that I have started work on a new exhibition that hopefully will be finished after summer, around the time I normally have an exhibition. It is to early to say any date, but I think I have gone full circle now. My experimental phase is over. No more pastels. Pencil and watercolor seems to be the direction I am working towards. Maybe it will last, who knows. I am not the one to like stagnation, but at the same time, to much experimentation makes my work to disjointed for my own taste.

LOOKING FOR NEW MODELS

As you know, from time to time I need new models. If you might be interested or curious, read on. I try to make the experience as comfortable as possible. Everything is done with photo-reference nowadays. Models don’t need to be standing around for hours while I draw an paint them. Plus, I like the spontaneousness that one can grab with a camera. A part from that, most of my models have responded that working with me has been an exiting and comfortable experience. I try to let the model as much as possible be a part of the picture, to draw out something of the models personality or alter-ego. People who are interested can get in touch via my email address, you can find it at the about page. Or you can meet me at my gallery or phone me.

As for compensation. Models interested in compensation for their work will be compensated for their time. I have several options which we can discuss, please email me for more information. But it should be known that I mostly work with amateur models, since I prefer the naturalness they bring. If you are an aspiring professional model looking to expand your portfolio I can be helpful with arranging a photo-shoot at a professional studio.

My artistic output has been strange lately. I am constantly torn between at least two different directions to take my art. And now, I feel I am torn between 3 different directions. So I have been sketching a lot, trying a lot of different approaches, techniques and styles. But the finished output has been somewhat low. You might call it a luxury problem, and I have a lot of fun with it, but at the same time, it is of course annoying not to have anything finished to show of.

So yesterday I drew a pencil drawing. Been a long time since I did a proper pencil on paper. I quite like working both with pencil and pen. But my drawings tend to become tiny tiny. Not that it’s a bad thing. But I tend to spend to much time with them. I did a pen & ink picture here as a style study a year ago which was around 9×12 cm. Very nice drawing, I look at it almost every day. But it’s so small.

I have had several issues that stopped me from doing drawings like that in the long run. But I showed the drawing in this post to a friend of mine today and he urged me to keep on doing more stuff like that.

Maybe I should. I have needed to get over a couple of hangups with my art that have stopped me from doing quite a lot of drawings and paintings. For those who know me know what I am talking about. I have come a long way since those days. Maybe I just need to realize that.

Looking forward to doing more art, that is for sure. Now, to get these luxury problems resolved.

I will be framing the drawing and putting it up for sale in my gallery. More to come later.

We just released some t-shirts and long sleeves for sale at our Elmi site. Check them out here:
http://elmi.bandcamp.com

And from next week and onwards opening hours have changed to:

Wednesday: 14:00 – 17:00
Thursday: 15:00 – 18:00
Sunday: Phone beforehand.

Just wanted to tell you guys about our new band, Elmi. We just released our debut album, sporadically written and recorded over a three-day period. Very experimental stoner drone, rough and untight, underproduced, the way we like it. Our debut album is called The Psychotropic Witch and has one 28 minutte long track. Very special stuff, but some of you out there probably likes special music. You can listen to the whole album for free here:

http://elmi.bandcamp.com

You can also buy a digital download or a limited edition physical version. For people living in Stavanger, contact me directly, we sell it for a “femtilapp”.

You can also find more information about us here:

http://ihfi.ingensteder.net/elmi

Check it out and have fun. We recommend you listen to it with headphones, closed eyes and lights off.

So I have finally gotten around to doing some printmaking. I have been wanting to do something like this for quite a while, I have just not found the time. But a little work here and there, finding the tools, experimenting and so on, sooner or later one will get there. I really love working in black & white, and doing woodcuts seemed like the natural thing to go for. I have been doing ink on paper black & whites for some time, but I tend not to sell those, mostly because they are done with stippling and take a considerable amount of time to make.

But doing woodcuts I can work in black & white and keep a reasonable price. The first one pictured here is called “Minnet”, or “Memory” in English, the image size is 10x10cm and it is priced at €25 (200 NOK). I think woodcuts like that can make great Christmas gifts.

I work with acrylics on the woodcuts, because it gives me better control over the surface of the print. I like the worn, almost shrouded look it gives. And it keeps every print very unique. There is a great variety between the prints. I also try to keep a small amount of prints per edition before destroying the plate. In this case there are 7 prints in the edition.

I will also have extended opening hours around these Christmas times. But it will be sporadic. But chances are that if you are looking for a Christmas gift you can get a hold of me. I also have quite a lot of variety in prices right now, everything from small pastels to the Oneironaut paintings still left, so there is a good chance you can find something that suits both your taste and economy.