Swedish Harbor

We visited my husband's aunt and uncle and took a walk from their house to the harbor and passed by this charming scene. This is on the west coast of Sweden, by Göteborg.

Sigtuna Houses

I went to the little town of Sigtuna, a main trading center in the 11th century, with my sister-in-law and her two kids. We had a picnic, and I was able to paint this scene that was in front of us. I showed my nephew, Lukas, how to throw rocks into the water.

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Lillstugan Front Door

This is my mother-in-law's house where she grew up in Småland. Now it's the family summer stuga. The woodwork around the entryway was made by a local woodcraftsman.

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The Tile Stove

This is the living room of my in-law's family summer stuga. The tile stove is both beautiful and functional. The sofa was used for a nap by "grandpa" when he was tired from a long day working at the sawmill.

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The Wedding Cabinet

This is also a scene from the family summer stuga. The antique cabinet was crafted as a wedding present back in 1821 for one of my mother-in-law's relatives. All of the items on the shelf have had an interesting history!

Lisa's View

This is the charming view out of a friend's window! The large bush in the foreground had wonderful reddish leaves that were unfurling as the days went by. I had to decide in which stage to draw them! This looks so Swedish.

Dala-Husby Church

This church is regarded as the oldest in Dalarna, a province of Sweden. A friend of our family used to live in the yellow house when she was young and her family ran a cafe there. The border is my version of a traditional border design from Dalarna.

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Dalarna Rooster

This cute table was set-up in a friend's apartment, in Dalarna. The window is overlooking a river that is frozen in the winter. I was busy sketching the scene as they were preparing lunch for Jonas and me.

Grangärde Church

My mom's relatives attended this church over 100 years ago. Johanna is buried to the left of the front entrance. She died from childbirth months after her husband left her and the 3 boys to prepare a new home for them in the USA. The border is an echo of the stained glass of the church.

Sundborn

This famous house was owned by the Swedish artist Carl Larsson and his family. He was instrumental in the idea that a home should be light and cheerful and the decorating should reflect the personalities of those who live there.

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Leksand Church

This image is taken from an old canvas painting done in the Dalarna style. It looked very old and faded, and it was fun to adapt and brighten up this painting in my own style. The text reads: "Here you can see and reflect upon the church of Leksand". Leksand is a town in Dalarna.

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Summer in Leksand

I spent Midsummer with some friends in Leksand, Dalarna. We brought along a picnic lunch and got there very early. In the background is the Mission Church, a very pretty building. A storm was brewing and I think we got a little rain on us!

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German Church

This charming little street, featuring lots of antique stores & the German Church (Tyska Kyrkan), is close to the main square of Stockholm's Old Town. I sat on a stone stair late one summer and had fun with this painting.

Stortorget

This is the large square in Old Town, Stockholm. It is ringed with cafes and bakeries. The buildings in this area date back to the 1600's. Here I've shown the square in the summer when it is full of life.

Old Town Stockholm

These colorful buildings are a few hundred years old. People walked by in their fashionable heeled boots. How do they manage such a feat on cobblestones?!

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Lars' Boat

Lars and his family own this old boat. I was painting it in the Stockholm harbor while the family (Grandpa, Lars, and a young girl) prepared for an evening trip.

I Jesu Navn (Norwegian)

A Norwegian table grace: "In Jesus' name, to the table we proceed, God bless the food that we receive. Amen."

Norwegian Skier

I took a photo of the Norwegian Ski Organization's sign at Oslo's ski jump. Grooves were carved into the wood then painted blue. I added the snowflake border and used salt on my wet watercolors to make the crystallizing effect in the border.

Norwegian Stave Church

This is a Norwegian stave church called "Borgund". It is one of Norway's oldest and best preserved stave churches, built around 1180! Very famous and a popular destination in the beautiful Laerdal region.

Fish

These colorful fish are ready to swim into your child's playroom or bedroom! Look closely and you will see that the fish have different expressions on their faces!

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Parrots

Aren't parrots wonderful looking birds?! Their colors are a very similar to the photos I modeled them after. Which one is your favorite?

Baby Bottles

I wanted to create something cozy and cheerful for a baby's room. I went to the store for some "research" and discovered that bottles come in all shapes and sizes, so anything goes. I had fun thinking of chubby shapes that would go with a variety of cheerful colors.

May Flowers

These are wildflowers I picked while going for a walk. Vitsippor and Hagg are two of the prominent ones here. They were sensitive to the light and kept moving around! I was challenged to draw every petal and leaf that I could see. Phew.

Easter Flowers

After a charming Easter Egg Hunt in my parents' backyard, and after we had cleaned up, I sat down to paint the flowers my mom bought for the weekend. It was a perfectly lazy, contented, warm afternoon.

January Fika

It was a cozy cold January. It's so fun to meet people for "fika" -- something yummy to eat and drink. I liked how there was a lot of calming blue, with spots of fun pink. We needed fuzzy mittens in Stockholm this winter!

Stanton Cottage

From Stanton, England, this cottage door caught my eye. I had fun with letting the flowers and vines crawl past the edge of the painting.

English Garden

My family visited the countryside of England. The cottages were so charming and had such warm brown tones. Wouldn't it be fun to live in this house, or at least be invited for tea?

Orange Tulips

I had fun with this cheery piece. The tablecloth is from a trip my parents took to Norway. The horse is from Sweden, of course. The tulips were for fun! The pitcher was a wedding present.

Daffodils

Daffodils are the Swedish "Easter Flower". I couldn't resist brightening up our home with bunches of them in March. I saw a lot of yellow and wanted to create a painting that makes you feel like spring is here!

Autumn View

I lived with my in-laws for almost a year before I was even dating their son! This is the view out their kitchen window in the fall. The laundry drying on the line will be crisp and smell great!

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Julmarknad in Gamla Stan

What a fun Christmas scene! The setting is the famous old town square in Stockholm during the Christmas market, or "julmarknad". Candies, raffle tickets, spices, and handmade items are for sale in the four booths we can see.

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God Jul Table

I took a lot of my Christmas things and put them on my kitchen table, thinking that I would make a calendar and this would be "December". The advent candles show that it is near Christmas. It's dark outside, but this could be at noon!

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Lucia Carollers

I wanted this piece to feel like it's early morning on December 13th, Lucia Day, and as is the tradition, you have visitors! You've opened your door, light is spilling onto their robes, and the cute kids from down the street are singing sweet songs to you.

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Christmas in the Stuga

My husband's family has a tradition of spending Christmas at the summer stuga. It's not huge, so they all share a cozy time together, much of it spent here, in the kitchen. A Carl Larsson print hangs in the background for Christmas. (See also "Stugas".)

Morning in Provence

This is adapted from a photograph from my mom's trip to France. I loved all the stone and the flowers growing wherever they get the chance! I just love lavender and plan to plant quite a bit in my garden this spring.

Boutiques in Provence

This street just looked so interesting! I wanted to bring out the fun feeling when you travel and don't know what is around the next corner. I like the uniformity of the blue doors that makes it feel like the village has a strong sense of community and history.

I Jesu Namn

A Swedish table grace: "In Jesus' name, to the table we proceed, God bless the food that we receive. Amen."
A great gift for a Swede's kitchen!

Manarola, Italy

This is part of the seaside village where my husband and I honeymooned. I was sitting on a big "pile" of marble slabs that were in the ocean to slow the waves. I had to wipe off more than one salt-water splash!

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Balboa Park

I brought my art things along on a trip to visit my aunt. We enjoyed finding this little courtyard tucked away in San Diego's Balboa Park. It was fun painting in California, and having the sun's rays warm my face!

Prague Rooftops

What an amazing view from our hotel! The buildings were so intricate, especially the gray one in the center, that it was a challenge to capture them. I was drawing the last important details as we were checking out of the hotel!