Inspired by a Metallica t-shirt

Once I started getting into painting with acrylic paints I started giving myself challenges. I spent lots of time on little tiny details, and one single painting could take me days to finish!

My boyfriend at the time was a huge Metallica fan, and had all these band t-shirts with rock prints on them. I studied these t-shirts very carefully, and decided to paint a couple of them on big canvases.

One of them is this painting of a cracked hand holding a snake (or should I say the remains of a snake, thinking about the fact that you can see the snake's skull) that I painted in 2006.

This painting took me 10 hours, since I mostly used a teeny tiny brush for all the little details.

Again, please ignore the big "Maria Hagman" written all over the painting. This was done in photoshop after I decided to upload the picture on the internet.

My first ever acrylic painting from 2006

To get this blog started properly I thought I'd upload some of my old work. 

The first one in line is a painting of Marilyn Monroe made with acrylic paint. The story behind this painting is not very interesting, but I can tell you that this was my first ever painting with acrylic paint, that I made in 2006. 

I had tried oil before, but I just didn't like it. Acrylics are so easy to work with, as the paint dries in no time at all, which is a benefit when you need to change something in the painting.
 

Try to ignore the massive 'Maria Hagman' written all over the painting. When I first uploaded this painting to my Facebook page I was a bit paranoid about people copying the picture and taking credit for it. That's why...

I have developed my painting skills and I've changed my technique a lot since this painting was made, but I just thought it would be fun to show you all how it all started.

The beginning of a new era...

I'm not talking about an era like Art Nouveau or Baroque here, but a new era in my life... I'm starting up my own art blog!
The reason? Well, I used to be such a creative person before, but lately I've gone a bit lazy. I believe that an art blog will help motivate me, and make me become more creative again. I have always loved to draw, ever since I was a little kid, and I still do. I went to art school from the age 16 to 19, and I loved it. I got to try so many different art related things, like photography and film, and I found the art history lessons really interesting.

This blog is not just going to be about the art of painting and drawing, but about everything creative - jewellery making, interior decoration, scrap booking, card making, sewing, ceramics... you name it! I might even throw in a book review every once in a while. Only time will tell what will become of this blog. But one thing is sure - everything arty that I do, or that I get inspired of, will definitely be posted on this blog.

I hope you'll enjoy it!