NEW WEBSITE ! !

Oh yes, it has taken me embarrassingly long time to get my website sorted...This week I signed up with Wix to build it myself. Hhmmm...it was super easy. I had tried with Squarespace earlier and was totally lost with it. I got discouraged for months. But I suppose you have to find what works for you and Wix did it for me. So I proudly present:

http://www.nadjasarell.com/

You're most welcome to check it out! What a week!

Summer greetings!

Rainy day sketching, searching for colour

Colour explosion, marker sketching for fun

My sketchbook bird enjoying life by the lake

Me and my sketchbook birds at Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art

Collage illustration for a new Finnish band Liljankukka

Artwork for the wonderful designer Gudrun Sjödén on her birthday

Me and my birds visited Stockholm and Yayoi Kusama's Exhibition. DOTS!!

I had a lovely holiday break, though the weather could have been a bit better... Back in the studio now. I had to spend a whole day yesterday tidying it up so that I'm ready to start making a new mess. And I had my birthday present, Wacom drawing tablet waiting for me (yay!). No I just need to figure out how to use it. That's going to be interesting...

Book illustrations finished!

I'm feeling very relieved today after delivering the last of the original artwork to the publisher, perfectly on time. Though it was a close shave...
The book Elsa ja Lauri juhlissa (written by Kerttu Ruuska) is going to be out in March/April. January was really intense work with the detailed illustrations, but also very enjoyable. Always after a big project like this you can feel quite worn out. I'm just happy there is now time for all the other plans that have been on hold for a couple of months. And it's February, the sun is shining and spring is just around the corner! It's time to celebrate just as they do in this summery, festive book.

Happy New Year ! !

Greetings from my studio and happy, creative, joyful year 2016!

It's freezing outside, but I'm very lucky to be painting green grass, flowers, patterned dresses, barefoot children and lots of juicy, lovely colours with my favourite gouache paints. And Santa got me a new desk lamp that has improved my life enormously! Time management is the key this month and deadline is pressing me on. Great year to come, I have a good feeling about this!

Painting summer!

It's gloomingly dark time of the year, but at least it's bright and colourful in the studio! I'm working on the historical characters for next summer's Suomenlinna children's adventure tour. This time the story will be about King Gustav III of Sweden and his missing crown. Lots of research for the costumes again, which I enjoy.

The fourth book in Elsa and Lauri series is "work in progress" on my desk too. Here is the cover design. So not too many holidays for me this Christmas, but plenty of good chocolate! And books!

Shooting time-lapse photos of me painting

Setting up the "studio", before filming

Finished illustration!

Yesterday I was participating in the making of a short video based on Elsa and Lauri book series written by Kerttu Ruuska and illustrated by me. I made this little illustration of Elsa while a camera was looming behind me taking time-lapse photos. Kerttu and I talked about the books (and of great many other things) while I painted away. And my hand didn't shake, well done me!
Once the video is ready and published, I will post it in my blog.

Blank sheets of paper waiting to be filled

I'm starting to work on the next Elsa picture book this very week (finally!) after finishing another book project. Empty papers stare at me on my desk. Some other creative projects will follow on the side, that's for certain. Sometimes it's very difficult to focus on the one thing you're supposed to work on. Mind wanders to faraway places. Like today. Luckily I have a very hard working illustrator sharing the studio with me. It makes me not to want to be an idle dreamer all day...

"Sun is shining, the weather is sweet..."

"...Make you want to move your dancing feet" (Bob Marley)
 It's a wonderful, sunny winter day in Helsinki today, I can smell the spring already! Really nice projects to work on, so I'm starting with plenty of sketching and research. The guys in the picture above are part of one of them.
Well, I just better get cracking instead of fiddling on the computer...

Colours, light, paint!

Just  a quick Hello! from my studio. As you can see, I've been keeping very busy with new artwork for a children's book. The studio is a mess, but I just focus on the paper and paints while listening the radio, music and audiobooks. It's fantastic to get more natural light every day, that's for sure!

Back at the studio!

First proper working day at the studio after a long summer holiday. My son started preschool today, very exciting! I have a great big pile of things to do, and wonderful projects for this autumn.

I got a chance to do a bit of painting at the summer home, where I set up a studio in the corner of a small room.

  

In between work, a bit of soap bubble fun!

Midsummer's eve soon!

Tomorrow I will leave the city for Midsummer weekend and finally throw away my winter coat in a lake and spend a couple of days together with my family in a little heaven called Johannislund in Kiikala. The old glass factory's village is by far the best place to be in the summer. A little bit later I'll be packing my paints and papers there too to complete the Christmas card illustrations I'm working on at the moment. Here's another lovely photo of my untidy desk at a very hot studio, where the snow is luckily only on paper!

My messy, messy desk

I love painting with gouache, but I don't appreciate having to wash those plastic palettes all the time. That's why have three of them, and I use their backsides too! Right now I'm working on more still lifes with birds and I'm really enjoying it. Especially now that it's finally spring in this cold part of the globe.

New studio!

This photo is from my old home studio. I moved a couple of weeks ago to an office building near home. Now for the first time ever I have a work space outside my own home, and it's fantastic! No washing up to do, no bed to take a creative afternoon nap, but a nice restaurant to have a proper lunch, a morning walk to the 'office' and so on. I couldn't be happier. This is what I needed!
The room looks pretty much the same as it did at home, and I get company from my partner as he moves in the room next to mine in December. Good times!

I'm working on the final piece for my Birds! -exhibition. As it happens, even birds have their kings and queens. This male bird apparently thinks that he is Louis XIV of France.

But no king without the queen! So I have a fancy looking lady already waiting for him to accompany her. Lovely Queen Elisabeth I of England, with her Golden Egg, of course.

Work in progress

I'm working on my exhibition, a whole gallery full of BIRDS!