EMERALD GREEN TIME OF THE YEAR

It is the emerald green time of the year. It is a rainy day after many sunny and warm ones. It is a day I heard my voice first time on a radio interview. It is an evening after a wonderful week filled with so much beauty. This was quite wonderful.

The sound of the rain while walking, the poor Mr Crow. The scent of birch trees. The moment when remembering that this won´t last long. The nights that are so bright. The Moon that is almost full. Sauna and a little bit more painting.

♥

EMBRACED IN GREEN

Afternoon walks, sunset bicycling. Heatwave and thunderstorm. Pouring rain and then calm and sunny again. Hems of dresses and bare feet. Blueberry sorbet in a park on green grass. Late nights reading books outdoors. The fragile scent of Bird Cherries flying in the wind. Hello summer, good morning all the green!

Just a little reminder, if searching a little bit of summer for you or yours, some of it can be found at my small online shop. Edit: Some new photos of the prints added to the shop.

Summer smiles!

MAY BOUQUET IN A CLOUDY LATE SUMMER'S DAY

Sunny days, coffee in the harbour, long bicycle trips on hills and around lakes. Wrapped inside a woollen blanket when the sun sets, gazing the small lake from my balcony. The scent of fresh late summer evenings, with almost ripen apples from all directions. The scent of fire as people start to heat their houses with fireplaces, smoke curling up from chimneys.

Here the autumn is close, in my summer holiday destination the sun sets for the first time in four months tomorrow. On the other side of the world, the spring arrives. 

The first peonies in old pink and succulents in spring green are colouring the landscape of sunshine and warm winds. Warmest congratulations to R & G in Paris, who ordered this custom painting for their wedding invitation ♥ 

You can find a few prints of this painting in my small online shop.

Clouds on the sky, shadows hiding. Colours of today on my painting table are mint green, ice blue and rowen orange.

Second pot of green tea, calm wishes!

DAYS OF SUMMER

Misty mornings at the summerhouse. White curtains so thick, sounds from the other side. Cold hands of the mist around everything, tree branches with drops like rain. Slowly the first sun rays arrive to glimmer on the lake waves. The curtains open, the show begins.

Every day more green, here and there. Yellow and blue flowers. Sleeping inside forests, their melodies. 

Night time swimming. Swans dancing and singing.

Darling friends, ice-cream, ladybirds ♥

Small spontaneous expeditions, many talks.

Almost blooming lily-of-the-valleys, the scent is already here. Fragile, the most refined.

Summer.

Have sweet expeditions!

(1st, 4th and 5th photos by photographer and cinematographer J.V.)

EARS OF A MOUSE

Hiirenkorvilla, we call the little buds on branches as ears of a mouse. Spring inside, sunny outside. The sound of melting snow on window sills. Yesterday the wind turned.

Happy afternoon coffee break greetings!

AUTUMN FOREST WALKS

From dark to light green. All the different colours and their different levels in autumn forests now. Purple, yellow, red, orange are also appearing every day stronger. Wind rattles the leaves in a different melody. Plays them like different instruments. 

Lingonberries so sweet and carpets of moss so soft to sit on and touch. On a small moss covered rock, the last Twinflowers with their gentle scent. Magpies and their songs up in the blue sky.

Starry skied Sunday evening greetings from my balcony, wrapped in a blanket, have a good new week!

EMERALD GREEN

Today the lake behind windows is the same color as the sky, just a horizon of emerald green trees in between. Silent rain does not matter seagulls. Pile of unread newspapers on the balcony with cups of fresh mint tea while watercolors dry.


At home a few weeks ago, small waves.


Happy Midsummer week!

A SHADOW OF LAST YEAR'S JULY

Sun wakes me up at 6 am. Fetching newspaper from outside, the sun tickles birch leaves. That green happens only for a few days in a year. The green after the spring rain. Drinking tea, reading the newspaper on the floor. Friend knocks on the door, we drink morning coffee, talk about music. Gazing the clouds in the horizon, will they become friendly or not on the way. 


Friend leaves for work, I choose one of the soft cotton papers. Mixing a few spoonfuls of Payne's Grey Blaulich color. Painting a background, letting it dry. Fixing a few clothes meanwhile, sewing machine hums, small details sewing by hand. The background is dry.


Choosing the color buttercup yellow and cranesbill purple. Leaves from different greens. Frozen strawberries and blueberries with ginger and almond milk for breakfast. More leaves of blue tones on the paper.


The clouds appear closer, they are friendly summer clouds. A turtle and a hare at least, in woolen clothes of sheep. On the sky. Floating in the blueness.


Lunch time, carrot coriander soup. A walk. Thinking how to continue the painting. 


The photos are from last summer at grandmother's. More of those July birch tree leaves in wind.

Just an ordinary day.

Happy Tuesday with sunniest greetings!

LITTLE DISAPPEARANCES OF TUESDAY

Everything is hiding today. The sun behind clouds. The new balcony flowers inside from the cold. Bird songs. The rosa thread I wanted to use for sewing this morning became brown instead. One of the rabbits hid inside a lilac bush this morning. Postman is hiding too, should bring some small news.

Maybe I could hide a bit too. Inside my jacket and a big scarf from the coldness while bicycling to the town to find some bigger painting paper. In a café from home. Inside magazine spreads from the café. Into new lands from the travel magazine spreads.

These images you may have seen earlier in my Flickr. They are from Reykjavík from the summer 2006. The girl living upstairs was hiding inside a tiger gardener. The wind hid in the grass and a small cat was hiding too but had left some small paw steps at least as the first walker on the new concrete.

Where do you like to hide today?

Lunch time, from that I do not want to hide. Bon apetit and Cheers with a tea cup!

Happy May, happy day!

WALKING IN SOUNDS

These are the places I dream about today. A waterfall joining a river and running down to the sea, babbling on its way. Wind very gentle. Secret huts and a small bridge. Caressed by round mountains around and a hint of snow to make everything fresh. Afternoon nap in Meadow buttercups.

Here sunset has arrived, snow melts quicker every moment, a rabbit eats seeds by an oak in the safety of the arrived darkness, sauna is warming up and tummy is filled with berries, fruits and tea. Have a good long weekend!

(The last picture taken by Heikki.)

LAUANTAINA, Á LAUGARDAGINN, ON SATURDAY

Hello Saturday,

How are you?

It is sunny, but very windy here. I put all the blankets and pillows to the balcony to get a fresh scent, now the wind does not allow me to take them back. I cannot open the door as the wind pushes it back. Feels like strong wind storms of Iceland.

Saturday is laugardagur in Icelandic and it means a laundry day. The washing machine is humming. Iceland I will think a bit more as this girl walking towards the Vattarnes lighthouse comes for a visit to the town today.

Layers to hide from the coldness. The cherry branches are growing lime green leaves. Storms are signs of spring. Green tea with sage.

Have a warm weekend!

A LITTLE BIT OF MISSING

It is rainy and +5 °C today in the treasure island Iceland. Quite different it was in the summer of 2005, when I was there the second time. It was very green and an 80-years old gentleman called Halldór was teaching me the names of the mountains around Reykjavík. We sat by a coffee table and looked the landscape opening behind the window. So many mountains fit in one view.

Is there a place that you miss sometimes?

Edit:

P.s. The smell of Reykjavík is of course the wind and the sea, but also vanillin. Very strong vanillin as there is a cookie factory in the middle of the town. Vanillin to my coffee today!