Brad's Outback

Brad's Outback by Martin Howard (2013)
Watercolour, 30.5 x 40.6 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Hönsarvet, Borlänge.

I've been trying so hard to paint some of my autumn photographs, taken this year (2013) and to capture the brilliant colours that we had. Each painting has had more and more colour and I liked the paintings, but I still couldn't seem to find anything that really showed just how wonderful the colours were this year. While I was enjoying a cup of tea with a friend, Brad, sitting at the bottom of his garden which backs onto the forest, I couldn't miss taking a photo of this scene. I'm glad I did because the next time I was there, just a few days later, all the leaves had come down. Anyway, it certainly gave me the chance to put some colour into my painting. All I needed now was a suitable title. I couldn't call it "The Bottom of Brad's Garden" , but then remembering that he comes from Australia, I hit upon the perfect title! 

Forest Stream

Forest Stream by Martin Howard (2014)
Watercolour, 30.5 x 40.6 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Olbäcken, Bergebo, Borlänge.

Forest Stream sounded like the best title for this painting, but whether or not that is the correct terminology to describe this running water, depends on where you come from. There are so many different names to describe these small streams. Here in Borlänge, Sweden, this has the name "Olbäcken", with the bäck part pronounced beck and having the same meaning as the English word beck. A beck is a fast moving stream so that word would definitely fit, but another word, brook, could also be used. A brook being a shallow stream with a rocky bed. Whatever it is called, I love walking to this spot and hearing the clear, fresh water making its way through the forest. There are several very small falls along it's route, which isn't so easy to follow. The best places to see it are where it crosses a pathway as it does here, providing a pleasant view upstream.

House On The Hill

House On The Hill by Martin Howard (2013)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Bergebo, Borlänge.


One of my favourite areas for going for walks, where I live in Borlange, Sweden, is Bergebo. During the winter, it is a popular skiing area. The rest of the year, it is a popular place for walkers, joggers and school children on outings. On the many occasions that I have been there, I have wondered why there was a road that didn't lead anywhere and this old house, abandoned on the top of the hill where the school children go sledging in the winter. As I wandered down that road on this day, the autumn colours were at their peak. I walked past the house and the sun caught the trees around it and the colours were so strong and bright. It made a lovely scene that I just had to paint, but now I needed to know why that house was there. I asked around and did some research and found that the house had belonged to a caretaker for a sanatorium which had stood along that road. It was built in 1906/7 and was used for the treatment of tuberculosis sufferers who needed to be isolated from other hospitalized patients. Part of their treatment involved exposure to fresh air which is why the sanatorium was built in Bergebo. The sanatorium eventually became an old peoples home, but was destroyed by fire in 1952.

Flooded Forest

Flooded Forest by Martin Howard (2014)
Watercolour, 30.5 x 40.6 cm, 140 lb fine grain paper.
Bergebo, Borlänge, Sweden.

When the winter finally loses it's grip and the snow and ice disappear, it is wonderful to be able to go walking in the forest again. As soon as I got the chance, I was off into the forest, to explore new areas after several of my favourite walking areas had been destroyed recently. Not by fire or any other natural event, but by some overzealous tree felling that had left a large area unrecognisable after cutting down too many trees. On top of that, a new water pipeline had been laid to the next town. One day, that might make a pleasant walk or even cycle route, but at the moment it is just a long stretch of devastated forest. I found a new path to explore and walked quite a way along it before I came to this spot where the path was totally flooded. It was icy in places, but not enough to walk over it. I was forced to go through some tightly packed young trees, but not before I had got a few photos.

On The Edge

On The Edge by Martin Howard (2014)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb fine grain paper.
Klippan, Domnarvet, Borlänge, Sweden.

I've had my eye on this grand looking building for some time now as a possible subject for a painting. I had been impressed by the view from the front of the building because of it's dramatic shape and I had seen it a few times when it has been highlighted by a stunning sunset. It was the building I wanted to paint more than the sunset, but I've only managed to photograph it with cars and vans parked outside which spoiled the scene and obscured my view. This day was after the last heavy snowfall of the winter and it was sunny. I set off down to the river to try to get some new photographs. This building is on the edge of the slope and a pathway down to the river. I took a photo of the house on my way down the path. When I got home, I realised that if I took out a few trees and a fence at the side of the path, I had finally got a picture of the house I could paint.  

Freezing Forest

Freezing Forest by Martin Howard (2005)

Watercolour, 50.8 x 40.6 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.

Gyllbergen, Borlänge, Sweden.

The Freezing Forest! Yes it certainly was freezing! It can get down as low as 30 degrees below freezing point where I am in Sweden. One of the first things that I noticed about the winter in Sweden, was the total lack of colour. Almost as if everything was either black or white. When painting winter scenes, I have found how even the slightest colour, can be put into the painting to bring it to life. When there's a clear blue sky, it reflects on the snow and the whole landscape is full of colour. That was the case with this scene and the sun shining through the trees, casting long shadows, enabled me use even stronger blues. The sunlight also allowed me to add a little warm glow to the trees on what was otherwise a very cold day. 

Into The Forest

Into The Forest by Martin Howard (2005)
Watercolour, 50.8 x 40.6 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Hönsarvet, Borlänge, Sweden.

Soon after I moved to Sweden, back in 2005, I started painting with watercolours again after a break of fourteen years. I don't know why it took me so long to pick up a paintbrush again after 1990, but I blame it on having children and a wonderful life while they were growing up. I think it must have been the change of scenery that was the catalyst. By the time, I reached the autumn of that year, I think I had painted about twenty paintings, mostly landscapes. As I began to think about Christmas presents to send to my family back in England, I hit upon the idea of having a calender printed using my landscape paintings. It was a little struggle to find a painting that could represent each month, but I did it. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to put in one of my least favourite paintings and leave out one of my best landscapes (in my opinion). This is that landscape. It is an autumn scene from the forest, about 15 minutes walk from my home, right next to a good friend's house. This is the first view of the forest that I see as I make my way into the forest from the roadside.

Cut Across The Street

Cut Across The Street by Martin Howard (2014)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Kjell Norberg Mens Hairdressers, Borganäsvägen, Borlänge, Sweden.

They say every cloud has a silver lining. That was true on this November day. The autumn had passed it's best and the days had become rainy and dull. Just the weather for a visit to the job centre. It's a typical building for a job centre, boring and totally lacking any architectural creativity. I sat in there for a couple of hours, waiting to be seen. It was such a relief to finally get out of there. As I went out the door, I glanced across the street. In complete contrast, there is a row of older buildings with much more character. In particular, this old fashioned men's hairdressers, Kjell Norberg (pronounced shell). I thought it would make a great painting so I took a few photographs with my mobile phone. I'd never been there, but before I painted it and as I desperately needed a haircut, I felt I had to pay a visit and give it a try. I even got a discount because I had no job!

Invisible Sun

Invisible Sun by Martin Howard (2014)
Watercolour, 36 x 27 cm, 140 lb Heavy grain paper.
Domnarvet, Borlänge, Sweden.

Sometimes you could be forgiven for thinking that there are only two colours in Sweden during the winter, black and white. The days when the sun doesn't show itself are just boring and devoid of colour. This painting was one of those winter days. I took a walk down to the local river to see if I might find something to paint. There was snow and ice on the ground, but the trees were bare. I couldn't find any ducks or swans either. The only little bit of colour to be found was from a small gap in the clouds, allowing some sunlight through, although the sun was quite invisible. The small island in the river provided some shelter from the wind, giving a glass-like surface. The reflections of the island and the far bank were at least beautiful on an otherwise dull winter's day.

On Our Way Home

On Our Way Home by Martin Howard (2013)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Honefsgatan, Domnarvet, Borlänge, Sweden.

This is one of the pleasant views that my children see on their way home from school. Close to the outskirts of the Swedish town of Borlänge, the houses become more spread out, giving a more village appearance than town. It's very scenic and we probably take it for granted. I took the photograph that I painted this from, back at the beginning of the summer. Soon after came the long, ten week school holidays, so I didn't walk down that road for quite a while. When I finally walked that way home again, I noticed a lot of changes. The wooden fence on the left, which was leaning over, had been replaced with green plastic-coated chain link fencing. The foreground bush on the right had been cut back and the wooden fence on the right had been painted red. So don't wait until next time to capture a pleasing image because next time it could be gone!

Bergebo Forest

Bergebo Forest by Martin Howard (2005)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Bergebo, Borlänge, Sweden.

This scene is from one of the pleasant walks in the hills at the back of where I live in Borlänge. The area is called Bergebo and is a popular destination for walkers as well as school children for nature studies and recreational use. During the winter months, these walks are transformed into ski paths. Many of the paths have lighting too which is great if you want to go skiing in the late afternoon or evening. This painting was done from a photograph taken in the autumn, before the first snow had arrived. It was late afternoon and the sun was just disappearing. It was highlighting parts of the pine trees and making a fine sunset. That's what I tried to show in this painting. I liked the end result and how unlike watercolour the paint appears to be.

Sunset Reflections On Ice

Sunset Reflections On Ice by Martin Howard (2014)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Domnarvet, Borlänge, Sweden.

By the middle of December 2013, the little snow that had fallen, was already starting to melt away. The nights were cold and the melting snow turned to ice. It was just after 2.00 pm and time to collect my children from school. The roads were very slippery, so I decided to take another route which leads into this little valley and to the school. It was very icy here too. As I reached this point, I was confronted by a lovely sunset which reflected on the ice. I knew it would make a great painting, so I took a few snaps with my mobile phone. This my interpretation of that scene, which I am quite pleased with. Sometimes it pays to be on foot and to leave the beaten track occasionally. I certainly don't like to be without a camera because most of my landscape paintings are unplanned. If I go out intending to find a landscape to paint, I rarely find what I'm looking for.

Winter Blanket

Winter Blanket by Martin Howard (2013)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Koppslahyttan, close to Romme Alpin, Borlänge.

In 2012, I was asked if I wanted the job of renovating a house. I was an out of work apprentice carpenter and with no other work on the horizon, I couldn't refuse a chance like that. The house was on the outskirts of town, almost next door to the local ski centre, where I got my first job in Sweden. This was the view from the back door, looking across farmland. I can't remember if this was the start or finish of the year, but there was no shortage of snow either way. I took a few photos that I thought might make good paintings even though I hadn't painted anything for seven years. The next year, I painted it. Watercolour snow paintings fascinate me. They use so little paint and I sometimes refer to them as 'dirty water' paintings because they can almost be painted with the water that I clean my brushes in.There is just a hint of colour here and there. From the air, I think Sweden looks black and white, in the winter. I enjoy looking for colour in winter scenes, however litte and using them to bring my paintings to life.

Path To The River

Path To The River by Martin Howard (2005)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Forssa, Borlänge, Sweden.

I called this one "Path To The River" more as a reminder to me. Had I not done that, by now I wouldn't have a clue where it is. There is a wonderful pathway alongside the river, but it isn't always so close that you can see the river, particularly at this point, just before or after the power station (depending on which direction you are walking). The path moves away from the river, to avoid buildings and access routes to the power station. It cuts through woodland with lots of desciduous trees and I could almost believe that I was back in England. I loved painting this, in an impressionist style. You can't paint every leaf or blade of grass, nor do we look at them when we walk past. I wanted to capture the sunlight shining through the trees, creating a little bit of shade on a hot summer's day. I was quite pleased with the result.

River Sunset

River Sunset by Martin howard (2005)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Hönsarvet, Borlänge, Sweden.

When I first moved to Sweden, I had just a five minute walk to the river. There is a nice wide and well-kept path, that runs alongside the river and on many summer evenings, I wandered down to the river with my family, to escape the confinement of the flat where we lived at the time. On this particular occasion, we must have walked too far or gone out a bit late, because it had started to get dark and the sun was going down. The reflections of the sunset in the river were very pretty. We were hurrying home before it got too dark and the mosquitoes came out for supper, but I kept stopping to look back and to take photographs. I wasn't very popular as you can imagine. I was rewarded though with a very beautiful photo which I was able to recreate with this painting.

Snow In Solbrinken

Snow In Solbrinken by Martin Howard (2005)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Hönsarvet, Borlänge, Sweden.

This was one of the first winter scenes that I painted and is from 2005. It was painted from a photograph taken from a road called "Solbrinken" in Borlänge, Sweden. It show part of a little valley, which runs between the two small buildings and off into the distance to the local school. I don't think the photograph was particularly scenic, but I was very pleased with the result. Even the trees which were completely bare and had no snow covering at the time, came out really well. It's amazing the effect that a covering of snow can make. There isn't much colour or so much light in the winter, but the snow brightens everything and highlights and reflects the little colour there is. It is very different from the dark depressing winters in England.  

Winter In Gyllbergen

Winter In Gyllbergen by Martin Howard (2005)
Watercolour, 40.6 x 30.5 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Gyllbergen Nature Reserve, Borlänge, Sweden.

Gyllbergen is the largest nature reserve where I live in Borlänge, Sweden. I haven't been there for several years, but I can't forget the breathtaking beauty of Gyllbergen in the winter. I went cross country skiing there when I was quite new to Sweden and I had never seen anything like it before. It is mostly pine forest with lots of open spaces too. There are ski paths to follow or you can just go your own way. It is incredibly scenic, peaceful and with wonderful fresh air. On at least one occasion when I was there, it was a bright sunny day, much like in this painting. I did this painting from photo which I borrowed. It was a challenge for me, having never painted a snowy landscape before. Also there were people in the photo which were the main subject. When I took them out, there wasn't much left to paint. When I had finished the painting, I was so pleased with the result. It is one of those paintings that I look at and wonder, did I do that?

Autumn By The River

Autumn By The River by Martin Howard (2005)
Watercolour, 30.5 x 40.6 cm, 140 lb Fine grain paper.
Dalälven, Gammelgården, Borlänge

This painting, Autumn By The River, was one of the first that I did after moving to the town of Borlange in Sweden. The river here is the Dal River or as it is known in Swedish, Dalalven (pronounced darl elven). The river originates in Norway and runs through central Sweden and out into the Baltic Sea. At this particular spot, there is a nearby road bridge over the river and just out of sight, upstream, is a hydro-electric power station. The power station, as well as providing electricity for the town, provides another crossing point over the river and makes the area between the two river crossings, a very popular circular walk. The river has well-kept pathways on both banks and is lined by a mixture of deciduous trees, which in the autumn, make a beautiful display, doubled up by some marvellous reflections. On this day, the river appeared almost still and with the sunny, clear blue sky, gave me the perfect opportunity to capture some of those reflections. I even managed to put in a birch tree, one of my favourite trees, which look good all year round, but particularly during the autumn.

Ski Tracks

Ski Tracks by Martin Howard (2005)
Watercolour, 27 x 36 cm, 140 lb Heavy grain paper.
Gyllbergen Nature Reserve, Borlänge, Sweden

Coming from England, I had been used to cold dark winters. There was never really much to do except stay at home. It came as a big surprise to me when I moved to Sweden, that even though the temperature is maybe 20 to 30 degrees colder at times, people go into the countryside for a day out. They even take a picnic and cook hot dogs! It's a whole different world and what makes the difference is the snow. Firstly, it enables one to travel easily by cross country skiing. Secondly, the snow brightens up everything and on a clear day, the blue sky reflects off the snow, creating the most wonderful views. It's so peaceful too! This painting shows ski tracks in a local nature reserve, but it could be anywhere in Sweden. I hope it gives some idea of the beauty of Sweden in the winter and explains why people don't stay at home.  

About This Blog

I am an English artist, living in Borlänge, Sweden. I am no Anders Zorn (although I wouldn't mind some of his women). Whatever, I would still like people to be able to see my work and especially those who are from Borlänge and will be able to identify some of the scenes that feature in my landscape paintings. So although I paint other subjects, this blog will have only Borlänge landscapes together with a little description. 
These and my other paintings can be found to view or buy on the following websites:

http://1-martin-howard.artistwebsites.com (USA)

http://photo4me.com/ArtOfMart (UK)

Jag är en engelsk konstnär som bor i Borlänge, Sverige. Jag är ingen Anders Zorn (även om jag skulle har inget emot att har några av hans kvinnor). Oavsett, jag skulle fortfarande vilja att folk ska kunna se mitt konst och särsklit för dem som är från Borlänge och kommer att kunna identifiera några av de scener som finns i mina landskap målningar. Så fast jag måla andra ämnen, detta bloggen kommer at ha endast Borlänge landskap tillsammans med en liten beskrivning.
Dessa och mina övriga målningar kan hittas för att titta på eller köpa på följande webbplatser:

http://1-martin-howard.artistwebsites.com (USA)

http://photo4me.com/ArtOfMart (UK)