How to delimit my painterly approach

I am currently in my third week, out of five, of my landscape painting project. My objective has been to delimit my painterly approach by working from three principles derived from Romantic art history: composed landscapes, inner vision over external reality, and the demand for artistic integrity.

The primary aim of this project has been to test the boundaries of an individual, painterly engagement with a Romantic mode of expression. The secondary aim has been to grant myself the freedom to work intuitively and, through this process, to analyse—both during and after—my practical and artistic position within painting. I seek to challenge the balance between the delicate and the rigid, as well as between the choleric and the graphic.

Reflections

Composed Landscapes

The compositional work has been grounded in a deliberate limitation of place and format, specifically 50 × 100 cm. I have allowed myself to reposition objects, alter their forms, and remove them entirely. The act of composing has taken place in the field, rather than in the studio, contrary to my initial plan.

Orust, Rämmedalen Forest and landscape shaped—indeed devastated—by human intervention and storm damage. This, too, provides an ideal motif for testing the boundaries of painterly expression.

Slottskogen, Ödledammen A distinctly “romantic,” even national-romantic, view. This is a deliberate choice that I intend to write about and critically discuss. It also involves a painterly technique I wish to study. Moreover, I will explore the more obvious question: how far the theme can be extended without crossing “to the dark side” in the artistic rendering.

Inner Vision over External Reality

I experience a strong sense of being part of what I paint. My perception of colour and contrast is intense. My challenge has been to step back—not only physically, but also mentally. By drawing on newly acquired technical knowledge, I have been able to moderate my immediate experience and reinterpret it painterly.

Demand for Artistic Integrity

Maintaining artistic integrity—particularly in relation to my own impulses—has emerged as a central and productive challenge. I tend to work with immediacy and momentum, while also applying a rigorous self-critical lens to the results. This ongoing evaluation operates on multiple levels: in terms of expression (at times negotiating what may appear as overly romantic or soft), as well as on a more existential plane, where I continuously test the relevance and necessity of the work. In this sense, the question is not one of doubt, but of sustained inquiry—how the painting positions itself in relation to, and potentially beyond, prevailing contemporary trends.

I aim for a mode of painting capable of sustaining multiple readings simultaneously

At this stage, I received valuable guidance from a well-known visual artist: remain present, resist external pressures, and continue to develop my visual language. Can I push it further? View oneself from a third-person perspective. Conduct research on oneself within the process. Avoid premature decisions.

As I wrote to a friend:

“Yeeesss only outdoor, happy and doubtful, happy and doubtful… but I’ve decided to be true to my heart and see what emerges instead of predicting it. A truly existential approach, rather than trying to anticipate what others might think…”