I became familiar with the work of Rickard Ölander, former professional cyclist turned sales director and painter, already in 2005 when I bought the first painting painted by him. A row of very thin men in red and blue seem to watch me with solemn expressions.

Over the years I have followed his development as a painter and occasionally I have thought of buying more paintings by him. I haven't done so yet, but I know I will some day. The vivid colours and the feeling of a happy and, at the same time, naughty grin appeals to me. I really like his paintings. They can be found at Art Revolt.

When I first saw the family necklaces from Swedish Hand with the names of family members I thought they were so beautiful. Visiting their website I also realised they made so many other beautiful things. I haven't ordered anything, but who knows... I might do so in the future.

All images from Hand.

I guess I felt like fooling around a bit. Things have been far too serious lately. At a meeting earlier today I couldn't help teasing a woman who has a tendency to always highlight her efficiency. She has an air of "don't waste my time" and she seems to expect everyone present to do her bidding.

The meeting today was not about being efficient though. The intention was to create a foundation for a series of pretty informal seminars, to see if we who were present had things in common and might be able to work together in various constellations. The meeting was thus not particularily goal-oriented and we actually had a lot of fun, but I really had to bite my lip not to tease her more than I should. She probably hates me anyway. Well, well...

Image from same_same.

While being in the vicinity (in Tongeren, the oldest town in Belgium), we decided to check out the newly opened Hergé museum in Belgium's youngest city, Louvain-la-Neuve. The museum looked very modern and "clean" both on the inside and on the outside. We weren't allowed to take photos inside, but it was a really impressive and interesting exhibition and I learned a lot about both Tintin and his creator, Hergé.

Louvain-la-Neuve is mainly a university town. It was founded in 1972 and all the buildings reflect that architectural period. No cars are allowed into the city and they would not able to get in anyway, since it is completely closed off. There is a parking garage underneath the entire city, however — an ingenious solution.

It's really amazing to see the remnants of old cultures. Yesterday, T. and I were out driving and we decided to take a look at some bronze age petroglyphs in the vicinity. We were totally blown away by the sheer amount of petroglyphs over a comparatively small area, and the excellent craftmanship was evident in many of them. The petroglyph above has been described as a (god-like?) man evoking the gods on a ship with a crew.

I've had an absolutely horrible day and I hope the above image relays how my head feels. I can just hope tomorrow will be better.

Perhaps I shouldn't be too unfair... At least the plumber was here to get my dishwasher going. Hurray for him!

Image from Format Magazine.

I really love Daniel Kessler's paintings of dogs and cats and I already own replicas of three of the ones above. "Celebrating Diversity II" was my first and it hangs in our living room. I bought "Teal Dog with Apple" for my office, but now I have brought it home and it hangs in our bedroom. "Green Dog II" has found a place in our hallway. I have to confess that I would love to have the last two shown here as well: "Rainbow Cats" and "Love Dog" (or anything else by Kessler actually). I love the colours and the quiet, yet playful feel to them.

Images from Kessler Art.