My paintings & the UN International Compact with Iraq Conference

Okidoki, so what is this all about? Well today, but especially tomorrow the 29th May 2008, the Swedish government is holding the UN "International Compact with Iraq" Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. In the outskirts of Stockholm. By the highway between the City of Stockholm and the international Arlanda Airport. A lot of politicians eating, chatting and meeting. With a huge participation of dignitaries from around the world, US minister C. Rice being one of them. And Maliki from Iraq as well. I hope they will come up with something good, to help Iraq. And not only talk. So what does this have to do with my paintings?

Nothing to do with the conference, other than it just so happens that the three large scale paintings, I made on comission for the Hotel, Scandic Infra City Hotel, (they bought and comissioned them in 2002), is hanging in the main lobby and entrence. The same complex as the conference center. See the photo. One painting is 5,5 meters x 3 meters, and the one on the picture is 3,5 x 3 meters, and finally the smaller one 3,5 x 2 meters.

I just thought it was fun to mention, nothing more :-)

Oh, about the conference ;-) here are a link about this after all important conference. Its to a Swedish english speaking newspaper about Sweden. Link >>


Stefan Lindblad
Illustrator & Artist

Copyright: what is your thought on this subject!?

It would be interesting to hear what people think about Copyright on images, especially because I know that people in many different countries and continents visit my website and blog.

In my own opinion copyright is very important and a very obvious issue. Any creative who creates images do so useally originally because they have the urge and need to do so since childhood. Then when he or she get the oportunity to make a living out of it, the copyright is an important thing to make an income.

For example everytime a company of any sort re-use an illustration by me, they pay a fee for the use. Like going to the video store renting a movie. People download all kinds of movies, music and computer programs on the internet, and they see it as their right to do so, saying the internet is free, and its only used for personal use. Like taping an old fashioned cassette player tape, listening to ones music in an ipod or whatever.

Should this also aply on images? Illustrators work to make a living, some more succesfully than others, but it is a job, and then when they see their work being used by someone without their knowledge, agreement or payed for, they many times dont have the strenght to fight it. In Sweden the Association I am a member of, paying my yearly fee to, has 1-2 employed lawyers. They help out in many legal issues, many times in contact with company´s of all sorts. And its also payed for when needed through the yearly fee to the association. But in many countries there is no such help to get. And therefore illustrators and other creatives are standing by themselves. And via the internet they suddenly are supposed to like the situation when their images and copyright is used unvillingly. What is your thought.

Here is a text I have on my website http://www.stefanlindblad.com/
It is a text I have taken from the Swedish association of Illustrator & Graphic Designers choose English button on the site.
More about international associations can be read about on ICOGRADA´s website


Stefan Lindblad
Illustrator & artist

New illustration by Stefan Lindblad, thats me

Drawing entirely drawn with my Wacom Intuos3 tablet and Corel Photo-Paint X4. (CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4). From an image I made of a man in San Francisco, USA in Jan. 2008. I was out walking with my girlfriend Mia.


Stefan Lindblad
Illustrator & artist

The CorelDRAW X4 Unleashed book release

If you have had a look at the previous edition of the book CorelDRAW X3 Unleashed, then you know that this NEW CorelDRAW X4 Unleashed DVD book is a book to grab your hands on, if you like to know how to work with CorelDRAW and Photo-Paint.

Foster D Coburn made a HUGE work on his last book CorelDRAW X3 Unleashed, and it really is an artform to make something so intricate to feel so simple. He is a master of teaching in his books. I am impressed. I am a long time user of CorelDRAW and Corel Photo-Paint myself, and I work daily on a proffessional basis as an illustrator and sometimes as a graphic Designer. I do a wide variety of different illustrations, and through the years I have looked in many books, first when I hade to learn myself many years ago, don let us count, please ;-) , and also just to get some tips from others. Its never to late to learn something new. And I think I can say I have never found any book so simple and direct to the point. Maybe there is another one than Foster´s but I still havent found it yet.

The new edition of the great book, the NEW CorelDRAW X4 Unleashed DVD book. Read more about the book on his own website. I can highly recomend it.

Stefan Lindblad
illustrator & artist
Long time user of CorelDRAW Graphic Suite
Presently X4 version.

New illustration using Corel Photo-Paint X4 & Wacom Intuos

Thought it was time to make a little update on my website. Here is a new drawing I made. I used my Wacom Intuos3 tablet and my software of course Corel Photo-Paint X4. (CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4). A city landscape, urban. It´s an image and subject matter I made without any reference material. I kind of had the image in my head and it had to be drawn. Made it from scratch to finish with Corel Photo-Paint.

Stefan Lindblad
Illustrator & artist

InDesign or Quark - or Ventura by Corel

Among many in the Corel community there is a huge support for Corel´s own DTP program, Corel Ventura 10. There is some criticism in the community for not making a new updated version. But most of all the silence from Corel about Ventura seem to be what makes people the most irritated. In the Corel Ventura community they say that Corel Ventura, 10 at the moment, is so good and so much ahead of InDesign and Quark, its a shame that Corel don't update Ventura. One said that if nothing, just updating a bit here and there would make Corel Ventura to still be the number one choice.

Personally I know basically nothing about Corel Ventura, except what I hear about it, and that it is a DTP program. After all I use CorelDRAW Graphic Suite for all my layout needs. When I look at it, on a strictly visual approach, the interface that is, is that it wouldn't hurt to make a total redesign of all the icons. They looked good in 1999, when Windows 2000 was new, but not now with XP and Windows Vista, they are a bit old fashion. For my needs I would probably never need a program like Corel Ventura, and that's because I don't work at a newspaper editorial office, with huge amount of long page documents, which is said to be one of all the advantages of Corel Ventura. I work with CorelDRAW Graphic Suite X4 as I said, and the multi page documents I work with works beautifully in CorelDRAW Graphic Suite X4. My own first choice.

In Sweden Corel Ventura seems unknown, why I don't know, but I guess its because of Corel´s lack of advertising Ventura in Sweden. Everyone makes their own choices, and below are some info on Corel Ventura, and links to more reading about it.

I wrote this because its interesting and good to know that there are more choices out there, and not only what the mainstream media choose to write about, and what the big shopping mall shop shelves promotes. If you have any insights on this topic please drop a comment on this blog. Or why not go the Ventura forum on www.coreldraw.com

Rikk Flohr the photographer helped me with the screenshots of the Ventura 10 interface. If you like to look at great photography got to Rikk Flohr´s website >>

Here is a link to the official Corel Ventura forum on CorelDRAW.com http://coreldraw.com/forums/104.aspx

Below are some links to old reviews.
Corel Reviewers Guide http://www.corel.com/futuretense_cs/ccurl/Reviewers_Guide,4.pdf
http://designer-info.com/DTP/ventura.htm
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1152105061811
http://www.unleash.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=190
http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000001049,10002307,00.htm
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/33968/corel-ventura-10.html
http://www.creativepro.com/article/corel-ventura-10-powerhouse-publishing-for-pcs

Stefan Lindblad
Illustrator & artist

Back pain, a new illustration made with Corel Photo-Paint X4

Last year I made a set of illustrations for a custom publishing magazine for one of the largest banks in Scandinavia, the Swedish bank Swedbank. Here is the opening page. It says in translation on the image, the headline that is: "It hurt´s".

It was an article about the different pains in once body one may experience when sitting on a chair working.

I made it by first after reading the article, make a pencil drawing in my sketchbook. I then looked at it and finished it and draw it entirely in Corel Photo-Paint X4 with my Wacom Intuos3 pen tablet.

Escuse the bad photo. I took the photo earlier today using my mobile phone camera.
And made very quick auto adjustment.


Stefan Lindblad
Illustrator & artist

New icon set in Openoffice

I have been a user of Open Office for quite some time now. I first started with Star Office. I was given a CD with Star Office x.0 something to go with a CD with Solaris OS, from a Swedish guy working for Sun Microsystems at a fair in Stockholm, SWEDEN. This must have been around 1999 or something. There have been many times when I have tested Corel Word Perfect, as well as Microsoft Word of course.
But in a way I have always prefered Corel Word Perfect.

What I really like with Corel Word Perfect is the two facing pages, great when writing, which is something Openoffice doesnt have in version 2.4 I currently use, but now looks to get in version 3.0. What I miss with Wordperfect today is the icon set´s. Dont get me wrong, the Corel Wordperfect software is absolutly great, its just the icon sets looks a bit like they did in the last version, well they are as I understand it. Corel should have made new icons in my opinion, to give a new modern look and feel. As a former Advisory Council member for the new CorelDRAW Graphic Suite X4, I think its okey to say that the issue regarding the icons, was an issue that was discussed very much, and the decision by the Corel team changing the icon set was a really good decision. I know many still like the icons in the CGS X3 version, as do I, but the new icons in CGS X4 is a real hit in my opinion.

All though I prefer Corel Word Perfect, of more reasons than the facing pages, I have all the same come to use the OpenOffice suite as my main Office suite, after all its free and works totally okey. And I like Openoffice. But who knows, maybe I start using Corel Word Perfect in the future, but for the moment I will continue with Oo, after all its a great office suite.If you havent tried CWP X4 yet, then here is a review on Corel Wordperfect X4 at CNET>>
Here is a trial version at Corel´s website >>

I have always thought the Openoffice icon set to be to boxy. To square and to un-artistic. Not inspriring to look at. And for me its important to have an icon set that help give a nice tuch and feel while working. Fun though is that Openoffice offers a set of icon sets to change in to. I just changed myself into the "Industrial" icon set. Its nice with a change. And the "Industrial" icon set is actually not that bad at all.

Being foremost an illustrator, artist as well as doing graphic design, I of course think icons are very important. Its so much more important than one might first believe, its not only eye candy. It sets a tone. But I wont go into that to much here, maybe next time. Here are some icon sets inside Openoffice that you can choose from already today. If you have at least version 2.4 that is. The next coming stable Oo version is 3.0, but that hasnt arrived yet, while I am writing this. It seems to be heading our way in September 2008. In this image of the Open office options dialog, I have marked how you change your icon set, if you feel to change that is.











Here are a few websites about the icon sets in OpenOffice are: 1 -Openoffice Ninja >>
2 - OpenOffice Ninja (2) >> 3 - Openoffice forum >>

Have fun, and if you like to download the absolutly free Openoffice suite, do so here >>


Stefan Lindblad
Illustrator & artist

Like to buy my art work ? Or give me an illustration assignment?

Do you like to buy my art, meaning my Acrylic and Oil Paintings, seen on my webpage?
Or do you like to give me an illustration assignment?

If you live in the USA, and feel its uncertain to buy and pay for the art via the internet, and from a country outside the USA, you can always contact my Agent SELLINC in Chicago, Il. USA. Any questions you may have can be sent both to myself, or to Dan at Sellinc.com.

If you like to give me an illustration assignment and prefer to work with an Agent, then of course my Agent in Chicago, USA, at www.SELLINC.com is always there to answer any questions you may have.

If you work outside of USA and like to contact me directly, please do so via my website contact page: www.stefanlindblad.com or www.canvas.nu.


Stefan Lindblad
Illustrator & artist