johanofkarlsson
Happy x-mas everyone (who celebrates it)! Here’s my christmas card 2011. Enjoy! 
Christmas card 2011
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Med vintern följer mörkret och med mörkret följer det okända. Följ med de östgötska konstnärerna Johan Karlsson och Therese Rosén när de utforskar den, eller det, som döljer sig i mörkret. Dårar,vålnader och vanligt folk är en konstutställning på temat skräck och belyser vad det är som skrämmer oss.
Utställningen kommer att vara på Bokgalleriet i Norrköping och börjar den fredagen den 9:e december klockan 15:00 och slutar fredagen den 16:e december klockan 12:00. Under den första dagen kommer Therese och Johan att finnas på plats för att svara på frågor om verken, diskutera temat skräck och mingla med besökare. Alla verk som visas kommer att vara till salu, för den som vill ta med sig en bit av konstnärernas inre mörker med sig hem.
För att citera Dracula, mörkrets furste själv ;
”kom frivilligt och av egen vilja”
johanofkarlsson’s photostream on Flickr.
Uploaded some more pictures to my portfolio. Feel free to browse!
Illustrations
Posted: October 3, 2011 in Art, Drawing, Photoshop, PortfolioTags: drawings, portfolio
Illustrations, a set on Flickr.
A bunch of illustrations I’ve made, check them out!
johanofkarlsson’s photostream
Posted: October 3, 2011 in Art, Drawing, Photoshop, Portfolio, UncategorizedTags: drawings, portfolio
johanofkarlsson’s photostream on Flickr.
More pictures uploaded to my portfolio. Enjoy! 
johanofkarlsson’s photostream
Posted: October 3, 2011 in Art, Drawing, Photoshop, Portfolio, UncategorizedTags: drawings, portfolio
johanofkarlsson’s photostream on Flickr.
A banner with drawings
Since this blog hasn’t been updated in a while you, dear Constant Reader, might be a bit curious about what I’ve been doing. Well, what I always get back to time and time again is drawing. This is basically what I’ve been doing; drawing, drawing, drawing, coloring and drawing some more. Since I’m (according to myself) a medium level (skill-wise) artist I thought I’d share some thoughts on my experiences. Maybe you’re also struggeling with your art? Well there’s hope for you a light at the end of the tunnel, if you just stride along and keep drawing. Here’s a top list of important lessons I’ve learned:
1. Everyone has their own style
No one draws badly. If a drawing is “bad” or really up to the eye of the beholder (the viewer, not the one eyed monster from D’n'D). Everyone likes diffrent kinds of art. And your drawings are also art! If you stop looking at your scribbles as bad and start looking at them as unique instead, your skills will grow, and fast! I say this from experience! try it out and see for yourself! Find your style and then work on it! Since i do like repeating myself, and this cannot be emphasized enough; No One Draws Badly!
2. You will always want to have another artists style
Remember the good ol’ saying “the grass is always greener on the other side”? It goes for art (and artists too!) This is the second most important truth that you have to accept and understand. No matter how good you will be at your style (which probably is super cool by the way) you will always want some other guy/gals style. It’s important to have inspiration and idols, just don’t get too hung up on them!
3. Put your work up on the walls of your workspace
And with workspace I don’t mean your office, unless you work as an artist. But then I guess you wouldn’t find this article interesting anyway. Anyway, even if this sounds corny and a bit grade school, putting up posters on the wall, I’ve found it really important! I’ve (and probably you) known for a long while that it’s important to keep old sketches to be able to compare
Wall o drawings
and see your development. So that I have been doing. But since I started putting my pictures up on the walls around the place where I usually draw, improvement has really speed up! It’s really a powerful source of inspiration to really see your growth as an artist. And also the drawings are great as reference on how to draw stuff. Doing this is something I warmly recommend!
4. Study, re-draw and trace pictures you like
This might also sound as something really basic, but I just recently (consciously at least) found this to be true. When you trace or draw a replica of a picture (or an object for that matter) your brain will save that image in what I’d like to call your imaginary file cabinet. I realized this when I first tried to draw dragons and monsters. I looked at my scribble and just said to myself; Ok Johan, you really suck! Reflecting on this I realized it wasn’t very strange that I couldn’t draw dragons; I’d never tried before and I didn’t have any good reference of dragons in my head! I think we (humans) take a lot of our visual impressions for granted and just lazy minded save symbols of them in our heads. Build up a good bank of other peoples pictures in your head by tracing, following tutorials (such as these) and draw real life objects and soon enough you can combine the different pictures to your own creations! Don’t expect to be able to build a house if you’ve never held a hammer!
5. Practice, practice and practice
Your drawing skills are really like any other kind of training; you need to stay fit! Try to draw a little every day, or at least a few times per week. Try to book yourself so that you draw at around the same time of day, this will make drawing a habit (and a good one to balance your coffe drinking, partying and smoking!). This will help you to feel inspired!
That was my fifty cents on drawing. The first two “truths” about your style and wanting other peoples style is most important and are closely related. Now go study, practice, draw, grow and have fun!
Johan, out
“It’s time to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I’m all out of gum.”
-Duke Nukem
