Hi I’m Andrea, and I’m so glad you’re here!
My preferred style is loose and spontaneous, but with an eye for the essentials. This is how I give my creatures character and a certain sense of humor. My sketchbook is my happy place, and paints and brushes are my preferred tools.
If required, I transfer my analogue sketches into Procreate or Photoshop, where I further process them digitally. It is important to me that they remain true to their authentic and “handmade” appearance which is why I make the corresponding brushes, backgrounds and textures myself, thereby making second use of the “happy accidents” of my sketchbooks. I can hardly wait to bring your ideas and concepts to life!
Vision
When I sketch or paint, I usually relax my thinking mind and work from a place of childlike innocence and joy. Initially I allow myself to be led by intuition only, always paying close attention to the negative space, from which I then start defining shape and color until the image gradually emerges and feels complete to me.
Mission
Whatever I create, I never try to mimic reality. My intention instead is to capture the “spirit” of what caught my attention in the first place, and finding ways to express that by accumulating paint and lines, inspiring the viewer to interact by filling the gaps with their own interpretation of what they observe and feel.
Get a glimpse of my daily work
Today I went to the @ålbækhavnebad — I just became a member of the sauna club! It’s this little white hut sitting in the middle of the harbour with an incredible 180 degree view across the sea!
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I managed dipping my tired body into the cold water, and I felt my spirits coming alive after a very long time.
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This is the first sketch I did since our move to Ålbæk. Did you notice my absence? I’m back now, dear friends!
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Wishing you a happy Easter 🌱🎨🐣
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#ålbæk #ålbækhavnebad #watercolour #watercoloursketch #watercolourart
Hi friends! I quickly wanted to show you my new studio space! It’s far from being done, but the new windows are in, the walls are painted, and I’ve got a my concrete floor I always dreamt of!
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This used to be a garage before, but now we’ve made it into an extra room in our tiny bungalow. I can’t wait to get working again!
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The last few weeks have been intense, physically and emotionally! There’s still a lot of boxes waiting to be unpacked, stored away, and got ridden off! The latter being the hardest part for me.
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So, I apologise for not having been able to show you any sketches or drawings, but as you see, right now the priorities are a bit different. But I’ll be back soon!
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Our move was the most nerve wracking experience I had for a long while. If any of you have moved houses, or even moved to a different country, I’d love to hear your stories!
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Please share them with me in the comments! I can’t wait!!
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#movinghouse #newstudio #newstudiospace #concretefloors #newyork
Balou is gone, and me and my family are sharing pictures and all the sweet memories we have of the last 7 years with this lively, crazy, funny and unforgettable creature he was.
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I thought I’d share a few sketches and drawings I did of him (and Freya) — together they were inseparable and so much joy!
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Do you remember, only a few months ago we all thought that we won’t have much time left with Freya, and against all odds, she fully recovered. Who would have thought that we know have to move on without Balou? We were so much looking forward for him to go swimming in the sea and chase the seagulls!
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Life is mystery. I believe it knows what it’s doing. Otherwise all this doesn’t make any sense ….
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Thank you all for the kind words coming in! It means a lot to me to experience so much support and healing coming our way. I am endlessly grateful ❤️🩹✨🐾🌈🦋😭💔
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#balou #bordercolliesrock #livingwithdogs #sketchingdogs #mydogismybestfriend
On this day, Friday 13th 2026, we had to let our very special buddy and companion Balou go 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
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He only lived 7 years, and 6 of which with a chronic illness nobody could really cure. From the very first day we rescued him from a cow farmer to his very last breath we did everything we could to give him a good live, and even though I feel it’s been too short, we will forever be grateful for the joy and love he brought into our family.
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Balou, I can truly say, you made me into a better human, and I want to thank you for every single day I walked next to you (well, you were always a little step ahead of me)! I will never forget you, and we will miss you like crazy. But I am happy to know that you are now relieved from your pain.
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Run freely, Balouchen!! Enjoy chasing sticks and catching balls! ✨🌈❤️
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#grief #grievingheart #bordercollielover #iloveyou #grievingmydog
Hi friends!
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It’s been a while — we’re in the middle of a big move! Not just moving houses, no, but re-locating to another country! It’s all happening soooo fast, and I’m running out of time!
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For the last 10 years we lhave ived in a really spacious house with an attic and a cellar, and plenty of storage! It was convenient, and felt just right for the time being, but I’m now learning it the hard way: DO NOT KEEP ALL YOUR MEMORIES!
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That’s what I did. I kept children’s drawings and toys, all the photographs and their schoolbooks, their favorite books and first spoons, their yearbooks and their graduation hats — and so much more!
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On top of that, when my father died, I also inherited and kept some of his memories — photo albums, more books, his memoir (!) and more than one-thousand slides, …. I’ll stop here.
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Letting go of these things scares the hell out of me. I feel great sadness as I must reduce it to a fraction. I worry that by loosing that object, I also get detached from all the nice memories, and I might forget over time. At the same time, as I work through the process, one item at a time, I feel like inside a time-machine. My entire life seems to have enrolled in front of me once again. And I get a sense of closure.
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Maybe you understand why I have not been able to draw or write very much, but I started to ache for my sketchbook habit. So this morning, despite the messy and cluttered desk, I pulled out my sketchbook and a pencil, and did this sketch.
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I was so relaxed afterwards. Now it’s back to sorting, packing and distributing. Only two more weeks. Wish me luck, please!
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Vi ses i Denmark 🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰
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#movinghome #simplify #declutteryourmind #sketchbookdrawing #imstillhere
I didn’t like the colour palette I used in yesterday’s illustration, and because of that I couldn’t sleep last night. I was wondering whether I should do some edits in Photoshop, but I’m not very good at that ….
Loooooong story short — I re-drew the whole sketch!
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I used more muted colours, and left more while (floor) in order for the whole composition to breathe … and now I spent an entire day just to fix this …. But now I’m happy!
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What I like is that I added the missing cat (can you find her)? And also I had a few other learning experiences I want to use in my next sketch! Maybe I’ll draw the bedroom. Or maybe the kitchen?!!
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I hope it’s not been too boring! Have a great afternoon, lovelies!
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#gouache #gouachemylove #newlove #livingroomsketch #sketchmyhome
Hi friends, I’ve been quieter than usual, and that’s because life is pretty busy right now! We’re only 6 weeks away from our move to Denmark, and as you can imagine, there’s so much to organise and downsize!
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Today, suddenly the most obvious idea popped into my head: I could sketch every room in our house as a memory and a way to say goodbye and thank you! So I started with the most obvious room, the one I probably spend most of my time in — my studio.
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I have just recently treated myself to a brand new set of gouache, the HIMI set of 48 colours, and I gave them a try. I only used a limited colour palette of 5 colours, adding some Karisma Tuscan Red and my all time favorite Caran d’Ache Luminance indigo blue!
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As so often, I went through a very “ugly” phase where I was close to ripping up the page, but then I carried on and found my rhythm again. Can you relate?
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Swipe through to see what my (already half packed up!!) studio still looks like, and before you ask — yes, I need all this! 😉
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Have a great start into the weekend — I hope you can still find joy in the snow 💙⛄️💙
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#acrylicpainting #interiorillustration #illustratinglife #mystudio #childrensillustration
Another week of Jehane’s golden thread, and this week’s prompt was “hygge” — the danish way of “living well”.
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To me, sitting on my sofa, spending time with our dogs Freya and Balou, relaxing with a good read, is enjoying life to the fullest!
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I sketched this in my sketchbook, using only black ink (from a brush pen) and a grey felt tip pen. I am in a monochromatic phase — I love not to have to worry about colours too much, and even though I’m a little bit surprised myself, I go with the flow 😉
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Let’s see when the colours will come back into my sketches! Swipe to see the original picture I used as a reference!
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See you later for the next “Golden tread”!
Thanks to @jehane_ltd for hosting this challenge 🖤🖤🖤
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#jehanesgoldenthread2026 #hygge #jehanesgoldenthreadhygge #jehanesgoldenthread #inksketchbook
Hej, just a quick hello!
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I’ve been a bit absent, and that’s because I’m packing up the house — the house that has been our home for the last ten years!
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Children have now moved out, so my husband and I have decided to move on as well. In March we’re moving to Denmark, as far up north as we could possible go, and we’re taking all our animals (2 cats, 2 dogs, and 3 Icelandic horses) with us, of course!
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As you can imagine, it’s a big task to downsize for everything to fit into a small bungalow! At the same time it’s deeply healing to pick up each and every item, reflect on the story it carries, and then decide whether it is important enough to stay, or not. A lot of things still carry value, so just chucking them into the bin is not an option. So I’m distributing them to various places where they can still be of use, or at least make someone else happy. I can tell you that it seems easier to buy things than to get rid of them!
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I find that especially hard with children’s toys and books, but as with everything else, it gets easier with practice! 😊
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Anyway, my art practice is the one thing that keeps me grounded these days, and once more I’m so grateful that I am able to process my feelings through drawing and painting. It’s those precious moments where I am in the here and now, and nothing else matters!
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As I can’t commit to any time consuming projects right now, I do a lot of private work in my sketchbook. For this self portrait I opened up Zoom, and drew from there. Let me know whether you see me?
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Have a nice Friday!! And thanks for still hanging out with me xx
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#selfportrait #sketchbook #sketchbookdrawing #sketchbookart #onedrawingaday
