Had the pleasure of getting an illustration on the cover of Glide Magazine and also a nice interview.
Glide Cover
Glide Magazine Interview
Can you introduce your self about 100 words?
I am a Swede living in Australia. I live and work from an apartment that I share with my girlfriend Stephanie and 2 fluffy cats - Rocky and Paprika. I came to the Gold Coast of Australia in 2002 with some friends to combine surfing with studying design at Griffith University. After university I worked for 4 years at Billabong designing headwear and backpacks in Burleigh Heads, super fun work and you could go surfing the point at lunch time.
I have always dreamed of and strived for working for myself, and even though working from home can be quite isolating, I love it.
When and why did you start drawing?
Drawing is something that I have always enjoyed doing for as long as I remember. For a long time I did not draw that much, but I am very happy I found the spark to get started again.
When I was around 10 years old I used to draw a comic strip called Jerry Bib with my oldest childhood friend Måns, he still has it at his place in Stockholm.
When I draw I get in a very nice head space and if I am lucky I get in the flow and and almost loose track of time, I think that is the best part of it.
Have you drawn animal and surfing art style from the beginning? Or any motivator in your life?
No, it has not always been surfing mooses… I used to draw warriors and knights and stuff when I was a kid. For awile I was also very into doing large canvases of abstract colours, and anima patterns.
About 10 years ago I did a skateboarding bear for a Swedish brand called Nord that my friend was running, that's when I got into drawing animals doing stuff that I like to do, and dreaming off.
How do you get ideas for the art works?
Usually I see something in the surroundings that inspire me, it can be in real life, on tv or in a magazine. I also follow a lot of inspirational people on Instagram -photographers, adventurers and travellers and get inspired daily from their photos.
How long does it take to draw up an art works?
Everything from a couple of hours to a couple of days...
How many art works do you draw for a month?
I try to draw every day, mostly because I enjoy it. I probably finish about 2- 5 things in a week, so maybe about 15 in a month. But it varies a lot, depending on if I have a lot of other work on or if I am travelling, how into it I am etc…
What type of drawing tools do you use, and why?
I usually sketch things out with a pencil, then use ink pens for all black/ white stuff. I am testing out a lot of different ink pens, but I think I have found my favourites now.
When I do colour stuff it is a mix between Copic markers, water colour and photoshop/ illustrator tweaking.
I am looking forward to play around more with water colour - I never know how it is going to come out, and it usually ends up being something completely different from what I had in mind, which is fun.
Have you studied art in school days? Let me know your school days.
I took extra art classes in high school, and after school when I had the opportunity. I think my parents must have told me about the after class thing, because that does not sound like me.
After high school when I was coming back from a couple of months surfing in Portugal I did one year of art school in Stockholm, Sweden. Then off To Australia where I did a bachelors degree in product design on the Gold Coast.
Where and why do you live in your residence? Can you introduce your home place?
I live in Freshwater on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. We are quite new to the area and moved down here from the Gold Coast about a year ago.
Freshwater is a beautiful place, just north of Manly, it has a nice community feeling to it, a fun beach break nestled in between two beautiful cliffs. There are also some great little coffee shops, bars and restaurants.
Do you work just as artist, or you have another job? And why?
Lately most of my time is spent drawing and working on all the things that comes along with the business side of it, taking care of the webshop, doing client work and things like that.
I also have a company called Shopscout.com that I run along with my good friend and fellow Swede Erik and my girlfriend.
How do your parents do, and what do they say on your life to live as an artist?
My parents are great, they live in the same town and house I grew up in, called Saltsjöbaden outside of Stockholm, Sweden. I usually go back and visit Sweden every summer for a month or two.
My parents love that I am doing what I am doing, I think they can tell that I enjoy it, so they are very happy and always supportive.
Who inspire you for your art works?
Last summer I went to visit the Swedish artist Lars Lerin at his exhibit, that was amazing. Someone that I really enjoy following on Instagram is the French illustrator Jean Julien.
Have you run any exhibition before? How was that? How do you feel?
No, not really. I did have some of my artwork in an exhibition called The Nordic Surf Film Festival in Sweden last year, but it was too far to travel to go there myself unfortunately.
What do you want to tell someone through your art works?
I don’t really have a goal of telling someone anything. I just draw things that I enjoy and aspire to do, things that get me excited, like travel, surfing, and doing fun stuff outdoors with your family and friends.
When and why have you start surfing?
When I was around 14 there was a Swedish skiing magazine called Åka Skidor that published a summer feature about surfing, and I remember that I had this super strong feeling about it even before I ever tried it.
I started surfing in Sweden at a place called Torö Stenstrand, Stenstrand means "rocky beach".
At Torö you mostly surf when it is stormy and onshore since a real groundswell is very uncommon.
This was before easy online surf reports so as soon as you could see the trees starting to move, we called the phone number to a lighthouse where you got the latest update on the wind strength and direction. If it was above 10 m/s in the right direction for a couple of hours, we dropped everything, borrowed a car and headed south.
Who do you like famous surfers? And why?
I like to watch surfers that have a smooth style and always let the wave dictate what they do. I really like watching Rob Machado, and Craig Anderson surf. I also think longboarding is beautiful.
What kind of surfboards do you like? And why?
I like surfboards with a lot of volume. Right now I am really into a short thick surfboard shaped by Yoshi Takeda who is a shaper that lives on the Gold Coast, that used to be my neighbour.
I am also waiting for a new longboard that will arrive any day now!
How often do you surf a week?
Maybe 3 times a week on average... Every day when it is good!
Let me know your unforgettable surf trip
10 years ago Me and Stephanie ( my girlfriend ) borrowed her dads car and camper and drove down the Baja ( Mexico ) coastline for about a month, camping and surfing un crowded waves. The dirt roads quickly destroyed the camper that was bouncing up and down behind the car. We decided to lock it up to a pole and leave it half way down south and stay in a tent instead.
I remember surfing a beautiful wave called Quatro Casas all by myself.
Let me know your unforgettable wave.
I got a barrel at Burleigh Heads that I will always remember, maybe because I do not get barrelled often…
Let me know your dream session
Warm water, head high, barreling and a couple of friends, preferably you see nothing but nature around you.
Let me know your dream surf trip
Tough one, maybe Solomon Islands where I am hopefully going soon... or trying one of those left handers in Chile. I also never been to South America or Central America, anywhere were I have not been would be fun!