Simon Stålenhag

It's been a little quiet around my parts lately regarding art. I've been a bit overwhelmed with school and haven't had the energy to pick up a brush. I'm really looking forward to Christmas where I'll hopefully get my energy back.

I've discovered an amazing artists that I just needed to share with you. Simon Stålenhag. I'm speechless. His art is simply gorgeous.

He's amazing at telling stories through his art and I would love to be able to do just a fraction of what he does some day.

You should definitely check out more of Simon Stålenhag's art.


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Art by Simon Stålenhag

"A Cold Morning" Step by Step

I've been a bit stressed out lately. While painting this piece I really released some of all the build up pressure and I realised just how much I love painting. I need to remember to paint even when I don't feel like it.

I'm still exploring the world of perspective and how to build up scenes. I feel like this is something that will be sticking around and help me evolve my personal style.

Painting a snowy scene was so much fun. This definitely won't be the last time I'm going to explore a winter wonderland. I've scanned my painting along the way so you can see how it has come to life.

I started with a sketch of the cabin in two-point-perspective and taped the edges with washi tape.

With liquid watercolour I painted a base with a light blue colour to represent both snow and the sky. Very roughly with gouache I shaped in the pine trees.

I then established some light and shadow on the trees to add shape to them.

Now it was time to paint the cabin. I first blocked in the sides of the cottage using gouache, this you can see on the right side of the little house. Afterwards I started to add some more details and corrected the colours. I experimented a little with the colours of the snow on the rooftop and really liked the outcome.

I added some pine tree shadows in the foreground to add some different colours to the snow.

For the finishing touches I painted snow on the trees. I used the light and shadow, I added to the pine trees early on, as guidelines for the change in colour in the snow.


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Gouache: Royal Talens
Liquid watercolour: Royal Talens

"The Journey" Step by Step

It's been a bit hard getting back in the game after Inktober. I've really been looking forward to trying many new things, things that I only scratched the surface of during Inktober. My body has been aching to get back to painting with gouache and using colours. But for some reason I've just been too drained of energy to pick up my brushes.

I've had an idea stirring for a while. A painting I wanted to paint for one of my dearest friends. I'm so glad I found the energy to get painting again. I've scanned the painting along the way so you can see the piece come to life.

I started with a light sketch and taped the edges with washi tape.

Using liquid watercolour I painted the base of the background.

With gouache I painted a delicate sunset and started to indicate where I wanted the clouds.

I had a bit of a discussion with myself at this point of the painting. I wasn't sure how detailed I wanted to paint the clouds. I knew I wanted it to rain in the scene, and that the raindrops would take a lot of focus, so I wouldn't want to have too many details in the background. I went back and forth and actually created some pretty interesting colours hidden in the clouds by doing this.

For the final step I added raindrops and small lights below.

I've never painted a painting like this before. I really like creating scenes with a bit of magic and I can't wait to explore it even more.


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Gouache: Royal Talens

Liquid watercolour: Royal Talens