Sunday trip to [Furesø]

Mushroom hunting tour :)

Sunday Trip to [Karlstrup Kalkgrav] and its surroundings

I am just sentimentally sharing pictures from my last sunny Sunday bicycle trip to Karsltrup Kalkgrav that took place 14 days ago.





Karlstrup Kalkgrav is an old flooded limestone quarry located southeast of Copenhagen, in Solrød kommune. The place with crystal clear water and rich wildlife, known only to locals, is one of the real gems of Danish nature.





The place is family and picnic friendly. There is one main path that winds around the lake and makes it possible to reach the edge of the lake and jump subsequently into the water (if the Danish weather is hot enough to bath :).



If the weather is just normal, cold and greyish, sit on your bike again and make a round trip through the Karlstrup forest ( Karlstrup skov). The landscape is nicely flat. There are several farms with lazy cows and grazing horses in the area. You can go up to Karlstrup beach (which is probably the most windy beach I have every been to) and check out the magic forest Trylleskoven with its gnarled trees.















And now you probably ask: how to go there?
We took S-tog A to Sølrød Stranden and then we biked approx. 10 minutes to the limestone quarry. For more info you can also check the web page of Solrød kommune or The Danish Ministry of the Environment (Danish only).

Sunday Trip to [Trekroner Fort]

The Trekroner Fort is just a stone's throw from Copenhagen and this fact makes it a great spot for a Sunday trip.

The sea fort stands on one of three artificial island that were created to defend the entrance to Copenhagen's harbour. It was built in 18th century and was part of the fortifications of Copenhagen until after the World War I.

There are no soldiers nowadays. :) The main building is quiet dilapidated, yet it invites to exploring. And the view from the top of the building is  just amazing!

The island is easily accessible by boat. The company Canal Tours Copenhagen offers a 50-minute tour from May to October and their boats are leaving from Nyhavn every hour. Don't forget your swimming suits and picnic basket! :)

PhotoTalks: OJAM [Painter]

Dreamy landscapes, subtle figures and colour contrast are three things that come to mind when I think about the French painter OJAM OJAM. She has been living in Copenhagen more than ten years. She's always busy - working for a Scandinavian company, travelling, and taking care of her children, yet she's full of elan and creative ideas. It's amazing, how much energy you can feel from her pictures.

When did you start painting, Martine?

I have always liked carpentry and wood carving and I started when I was really young in a creative and not always constructive manner!
In Sweden in the early 2000, I went to 'Upplands Väsby Möbelsnickarskolan' (woodworking school of Upplands Vasby, Sweden) and enjoyed woodworking as much as designing the pieces. A lot of my home furniture results from this activity. After moving to Denmark in 2003, I continued to design some pieces and explored the design aspect further, which I then developed into drawing and painting activities; it was also easier than woodworking activity and equipment when living in an apartment in town.
I very much enjoyed this new interest, which I keep exploring.

What are you currently working on?

I always enjoyed painting in an abstract realism with a restricted colour palette. Today I am investigating this further with a grey-black colour palette, where I am trying to extract real atmosphere, using the essence of the light effect.
Simultaneously I am also working on pencil drawings based on classic sculptures in the Glyptotek Museum in Copenhagen. With this I am hoping to better integrate people into my city atmosphere paintings. Today I just finished an exhibition in Helligåndshuset, Copenhagen from which I got very interesting feedback, and I am currently experimenting new paintings and technics before planning for a next exhibition event.

What inspires you?

I very much like to paint atmosphere, or life experience ambiance, mostly based on real situations. My kids are also a very rich source of inspiration, either from a common situation we experienced or by enjoying the act of painting together, their feedback and participation is always welcome and contributes a lot to my painting. We enjoy traveling together, and these common cultural, architectural, and sporting experiences form an endless base for creativity.
I was fortunate enough over the last ten years to meet excellent painters and teachers such as Karin Court-Payen, Vladimir Voronin, Laurent Auer, and Håkan Nystrom. They have helped broaden my technique and further developed my enthusiasm for painting and drawing.

Thank you for the interview.

Byens Lys [Collective Exhibition]

There is a great collective exhibition in a church just few steps from the Copenhagen main shopping street Strøget. The exhibition, Byens Lys, features 20 contemporary mostly Danish painters, sculptures and ceramists.

My boyfriend and I were at the opening of a collective exhibition on Tuesday. We were impressed by the range of different genres and styles that are presented. You can find there large abstract painting, Indian ink drawings, both impressionistic and expressionistic pictures, cubist style paintings, collages, ceramics masks, vases and much more.

The exhibition is open until Sun 30th March. So if you have some of time on weekend, go there. I promise, you won't regret it.
P.S. I am working on an interview with one of the artist. Stay tuned. It is coming soon! ;-)

BYENS LYS [Collective Exhibition]
Valkendorfsgade 36, København K
25/3 - 30/3 2014, 12:00-19:00
Free admission

Artists: Karen Steen Hansen, Berit Faber, Mary Holm Larsen, Lajla Skafte Bang, Mette Rørsted, Lise Juhl, Mona Jahn, Eva Myrdal Linstow, Kamma Kaae, Anne-Marie Nørra Pedersen, Ulla Seityberg, Gitte Valentiner-Branth, Claudia Palmvig, Christian Hemmingsen, Lisbeth Diamant, Lene Berg, Lotte Kirkeby, Ingrid Møller, Nina Tange and Martine Ojam.

PhotoTalks: David Noel Bourke [Filmmaker]

Summer calls for a new interview! I met David Noel Bourke and I had a really nice chat with him about a life and film culture in Denmark. And I decided to introduce him to you.



David is an independent filmmaker from Ireland who moved to Denmark twelve years ago. He has been living with his Danish wife in Valby. He has written and directed the two feature films Last Exit (2003) and No Right Turn (2009).

David, what are you currently working on?
I'm excited to be working on a new Nordic Noir feature film called WHITE PIG. It's a thriller, the story is a metaphor about Danes and their foreign friends, sometimes not so nice and how all of us can learn from this!

'White pig' is going to be a very first crowd funded film produced in Denmark. Why do you decided to finance it this way?
I have been writing for a few years since the launch of my previous film "No Right Turn", so I needed to start shooting something. Crowdfunding seemed like a perfect opportunity to share the film with the public and gather some funding support to help us get started.
Help us make it happen HERE, 7 days to go :-)



What motivates and inspires you?
Open minded people. Folk who dare to be different. Of course good movies, good books and travel!

Thank you for the interview!

Watching a Storm Coming

Anytime, I am going to the beach in Charlottenlund, it is raining. Last Wednesday was no exception. Instead of sea bathing, my boyfriend and I were sitting under a small white shelter, eating our sandwichs and watching a spectacular show.

















When the show was over, we took our bikes and rode home.