Seldom so cold and clear here in December
Walking just after sunset
Bellevue beach
"Can I get your bottle, please" he said, my childhood friend, standing beside me, as I hold the bag, that contained all the bottles we collected since our last walk to the shop
Carlsberg Pavilion
Who came up with building things like this for a factory making beer?
Sitting in history
I pick the motive in the middle, like it, it reminds me of opening the drawer, where my granddad kept all the things he didn't know where to put.
A square I know well
There is a bench here, it has a lamp over it, so during the day, and still in the dark Scandinavian evenings, I could continue to paint. I sat watching people walking by and did many street sketches of people from here
The museum of quiet
Could sit here in the afternoons, after the schoolkids had left, and just watch the light, and study the sculptures in the winter days
Cafe in an old church
The stories might be different, but most important is that we still share them
Wind swept square of Justice
Walking past the square on a windy day, getting a cheap cup of coffee and a croissant from the 7-11 on the corner and placing myself so I can paint the place... So many times
Loosing the sky to architecture
When I started out on watercolors I painted the sky, but I lost it studying architecture. Painting the sky was a no-go on the Royal Academy...
The Art shop around the corner
Through the years I've seen a few art material shops come and go, just here used to be two, wonder if they all went online, or just away?
Rosenborg Castle
Cramped far in the bushes I was all concentrated on my painting when I heard a voice... "Frits! Is that you in there?"
Royal Danish Theatre
Facing out to the central square in Copenhagen is the Royal theatre. I look at it differently since I got a chance to sketch the actors and dancers practice in there
Christiansborg Watercolor
When living here, you don't think about it much, how central the parliament is placed
The Marble church Copenhagen
I stood on the middle of the place, with Amalienborg, the royal palace on all sides, not able to use my easel ( security) , I had to both hold the paper and paint in the wind
My number one Nyhavn watercolor
Way back I got the option to sell my watercolors through gift shops in Copenhagen ( I gave it up later ). And one of my watercolor paintings was more popular than any of the others... it is this one
Painting in the middle of the stream
The sun in my eyes and surrounded by people, with half an eye on my backpack as long as I could keep my eyes open... even getting my easel stolen, when I closed my eyes on a bench once
Boat under repair forever
When coming back painting on the same spots I realize, that what I thought was a short time repair, stays the same over the years
Black fishing boat Copenhagen
On sunny days the street along the Nyhavn channel is beaming with life and people. Sitting across out of the sun, where the buildings give me a bit of shadow, I paint while listen to the street musicians
Missing the fishing boats
Standing on the quai with my watercolors and easel, looking for the boats... it's not all the same without them
Copenhagen Some days are misty
Walking down to the water and putting my easel up the cold mist hit me, and I wondered if the colors would dry on the paper at all
Nyhavn 17 watercolor Copenhagen
Since the beginning I've been painting watercolors in Copenhagen. And this view is so familiar, as it is the view from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art, where I studied architecture through most of the 1990's
The old woman under the roof
I never really got to know a lot about her, the old lady living up there under the roof in the small hut. Just saw her talking to herself, or maybe it was to the island, as she crawled out of the small door, and down the stairs. Every morning she would go swimming and often collect things along the way
Seals singing at the most eastern hut in Denmark
Most of the small granite huts are on the west side of the island Christiansø, but one is far away from all the others. Only a few hundred meters from the most Eastern point in Denmark, where the Grey seals gather to sing under the moon
Hiding a powerstation
On the Ertholmene islands every modern thing like power is hidden or integrated into existing structures. This is the look of the building housing both the power station, toilet and bathing facilities for both campside and sailors - even the people in the small huts use the facilities here
Granite huts and rocks
On Ertholmene the tiny granite huts and shacks are in some places build together with the rocks, in ways where the rocks often continues somehow inside the architecture
Frits Ahlefeldt: sketchbook and stories 