Introduction:

"This blog is not necessarily for lovers of art, it includes a variety of topics and whatever. I'm a painter who likes to know what's really going on in the world today. So you might find anything from Shamrocks to Salmiakki mentioned here on my blog. There will of course be some boring, factual and informational posts, but I'll keep them to a minimum, I promise!

And I might get a bit nostalgic now and then.

So you have been warned!"


- Alan Hogan



Monday, December 18, 2017

My Finland 100 : 71- 80







Finland became an independent state on 6 December 1917. Already there have been numerous events staged throughout the country to celebrate this centenary year. The theme of the centenary year is ‘Together’. 


As I have been a resident of Finland for the past ten years I wanted to do a little something. For this I decided to post 100 images to my Instagram account on social media with the hashtag #finland100_igchallenge .




Anyone familiar with the Instagram application will be aware of the vast amount of wonderful photography posted every day online. There are so many amazing images to be found featuring Finland's stunning nature and landscapes. I imagine my photography may be lack lustre in comparison and as a result may not be noticed. So I decided to simply look closer in and around my new home for another approach. I have posted a variety of images found around my own house and neighbourhood. I didn't know much about Finland before I moved here, so I view this as an opportunity to show others a few things I discovered about or associated with Finland and it's culture. I have included everyday items, nostalgic items, locations, food and also some Finnish-themed artworks which I painted myself while living here. In other words, a bit of everything!!




The images are in no particular order of importance or preference, so I'll continue with 71-80...






71/100
..Vikings is back and King Harald Finehair is probably having a drink tonight! ...a selection of the Finnish actor Peter Franzen's movies. #peterfranzen


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72/100
...remembering my first day in Finland and the surprise 'snow baptism' I received. A rite of passage for any new arrivals here in wintertime! ๐Ÿ˜„❄
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73/100
(Posted on 6th December 2017) 
Happy 100th Independence Day Finland! ...Onnea Suomi 100!!! ...Grattis pรฅ 100-รฅrsdagen Finland!


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Here's a short clip from the Independence Day celebrations in Helsinki.







74/100
...perfect weather for a little Independence Day walk in Finland today. Finnish nature can never have enough instagrams!! ๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒฟ❄❄ (click arrow in photo for more)

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75/100
..the Orange Cow made a playlist of tunes from Finland on Soundcloud.


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You can listen to this playlist here!






76/100
...Life's a birch sometimes! ๐ŸŒฒ๐Ÿ˜„ 'Connections' (acrylic on board)


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77/100
#flashbackfriday  ..that proud moment when you cut down your first Christmas tree in the land of Santa Claus and he's not around to see it! ๐ŸŽ…๐ŸŽ„

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78/100
..60's pop hits! ..because old Engelbert Humperdinck songs sound so much better in Finnish! ๐Ÿ˜€

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79/100
..finnish sausages or makkara are normally eaten during barbeque season, but they also taste great out of the oven in the winter.

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80/100
.. a nice place to visit in the summer. 'ร…land Landscape' (acrylic-on-canvas)

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11- 20

21- 30

31- 40

41- 50

51- 60

61- 70

71- 80

81- 90

91- 100


















Share this blog!







Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.








- Alan









 

Sunday, December 17, 2017

My Finland 100 : 61- 70







Finland became an independent state on 6 December 1917. Already there have been numerous events staged throughout the country to celebrate this centenary year. The theme of the centenary year is ‘Together’. 


As I have been a resident of Finland for the past ten years I wanted to do a little something. For this I decided to post 100 images to my Instagram account on social media with the hashtag #finland100_igchallenge .




Anyone familiar with the Instagram application will be aware of the vast amount of wonderful photography posted every day online. There are so many amazing images to be found featuring Finland's stunning nature and landscapes. I imagine my photography may be lack lustre in comparison and as a result may not be noticed. So I decided to simply look closer in and around my new home for another approach. I have posted a variety of images found around my own house and neighbourhood. I didn't know much about Finland before I moved here, so I view this as an opportunity to show others a few things I discovered about or associated with Finland and it's culture. I have included everyday items, nostalgic items, locations, food and also some Finnish-themed artworks which I painted myself while living here. In other words, a bit of everything!!




The images are in no particular order of importance or preference, so I'll continue with 61-70...






61/100
Big rocks like the one shown here are a common sight in Finland. They were left over from the ice age. In fact the rock shown here is one of the smaller ones.

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on





62/100
...'Thoughts of summer' (acrylic on canvas). a finnish summer house in Prรคstkulla Finland which i painted in a dreamscape of summer colours.

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63/100
.. If you ever visit Helsinki check out the city's superb Jugendstil architecture. My favourite area is Katajanokka where I took these photos. (click on left of photo for more images)


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64/100
...the small town of Ekenรคs in Finland has a pole where they lock the necks of any Irishmen who don't pay for their beer, as demonstrated here by myself and my cousin on a recent visit.๐Ÿบ๐Ÿ˜„ It's called the 'Shame Pole'. ..It was once used to punish criminals in the old days.
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65/100
...flashback friday, hanging out with football fans from local Karis club BK-46 during the summer. The best of Finland! ⚽๐Ÿ˜Ž๐Ÿ‘ 

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66/100
.... 4 words: Finland, Metal, Cello, Apocalyptica!
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67/100
.. a glowing Helsinki Cathedral overlooks the Christmas market in Senate Square this weekend.

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68/100
... wall tapestry from Finland,... red christmas lights from Dunnes stores (switching on shortly)

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69/100
..'just had a night visit from this little guy asking me to put up my Christmas tree and some lights asap.๐ŸŽ„ He's called a Tonttu/Tomte here in Finland and he's a wannabe mythological creature from Nordic folklore who appears every Christmas. I tried to keep him quietly in the kitchen as I have another small mythological creature from Irish folklore hidden in the livingroom. He's fast asleep now and won't wake up until mid-March. So, i'd better get moving and keep this Tontuu happy or he might wake up old grumpyhead! ๐Ÿ˜ฏ

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70/100
...'travelling by boat from Dublin to Liverpool I once found myself surrounded by young Irish football fans with bleached hair and this guy's name on their jerseys. Probably the first Finnish name many Irish people will mention when asked to name a famous Finn. Absolute legend for Liverpool and Finland! ⚽๐Ÿ˜Ž๐Ÿ‘ (click right side of photo for more images) #samihyypia

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11- 20

21- 30

31- 40

41- 50

51- 60

61- 70

71- 80

81- 90

91- 100

















Share this blog!







Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.








- Alan









 

Thursday, December 14, 2017

My Finland 100 : 51- 60







Finland became an independent state on 6 December 1917. Already there have been numerous events staged throughout the country to celebrate this centenary year. The theme of the centenary year is ‘Together’. 


As I have been a resident of Finland for the past ten years I wanted to do a little something. For this I decided to post 100 images to my Instagram account on social media with the hashtag #finland100_igchallenge .




Anyone familiar with the Instagram application will be aware of the vast amount of wonderful photography posted every day online. There are so many amazing images to be found featuring Finland's stunning nature and landscapes. I imagine my photography may be lack lustre in comparison and as a result may not be noticed. So I decided to simply look closer in and around my new home for another approach. I have posted a variety of images found around my own house and neighbourhood. I didn't know much about Finland before I moved here, so I view this as an opportunity to show others a few things I discovered about or associated with Finland and it's culture. I have included everyday items, nostalgic items, locations, food and also some Finnish-themed artworks which I painted myself while living here. In other words, a bit of everything!!




The images are in no particular order of importance or preference, so I'll continue with 51-60...






51/100
..Helsinki's Pubtram! ๐Ÿบ


A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on





52/100
..the winter is doing the hokey pokey in Finland this year! ๐Ÿ˜„ Only yesterday my street was covered in snow and this is the picture today!... Well this is the busy street I live on!!


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53/100
A print of a painting I made featuring a summer landscape scene from the Nivala region of Finland. Original art is somewhere in Helsinki. ๐Ÿจ
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54/100
3pm and Moomin Mamma is enjoying one last bit of Saturday sunshine! ☀ (click arrow in photo for more)


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55/100
...a photo from Turku city featuring a sculpture of Finnish athlete Paavo Nurmi, one of the most successful male athletes in Olympic history and one of only four athletes to win 9 olympic gold medals. He was one of the Finnish athletic group nicknamed the 'Flying Finns'.
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56/100
'Bromarf Sunset' (acrylic-on-canvas)


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57/100
...angry birds, they're everywhere!! ๐Ÿฅ


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58/100
Vroom!! Vroom!! ..Finnish snow power!!...'just need some snow now and I'm good to go!! ๐Ÿ˜„ ๐Ÿ‘ ..Winha Snowmobile.

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59/100
The brown bear is Finland's national animal. This is as close as I've got to one, the sculpture of a bear sitting outside the entrance to the Finnish National Museum in Helsinki. 'Called Karhu in Finnish. ๐Ÿป

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60/100
In the town of Uusikaupunki you will find the Bonk museum where bonk machines are on display. Finnish artist Alvar Gullichsen created this peculiar creation.
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Click below for more:

1- 10

11- 20

21- 30

31- 40

41- 50

51- 60

61- 70

71- 80

81- 90

91- 100


















Share this blog!







Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.








- Alan









 

The Art Garage, Finland

The Art Garage, Finland
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